AMCC BASEBALL SEASONS END IN POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT PLAY

Three AMCC baseball teams continued their seasons in the NCAA and ECAC postseason tournaments, but all three seasons came to end over the weekend. AMCC champion La Roche University concluded their 2019 season with an extra inning loss to Adrian in the NCAA tournament, while Penn State Altoona and Penn State Behrend both fell in the ECAC tournament.

Adrian 6, La Roche 4 (extra innings)  |  NCAA Tournament
La Roche starting pitcher Travis Holman got out of a bases loaded jam to keep it scoreless midway through the first inning, as the Redhawk offense backed him with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning. Adrian got a run back in the top of the second but Shane Roebuck flipped it to Holman to catch the tying run at the plate. Redhawk reliever Jake Seymour made quick work in the seventh in a 1-2-3 inning and the Redhawks struck for a run in the bottom of the inning. Jonathan Spina drove a double to the left field gap and took third when Adrian's left fielder bobbled the throw. Hoffman came through with an infield single and his second RBI of the game. Adrian homered to take a 4-3 lead in the top of the eighth and the Redhawks stranded a runner at third in the bottom of the inning. Troy Kifer made a huge defensive stop to save a run in the top of the ninth. La Roche tied it in the bottom of the ninth. Brandon Nania hit a bloop single into centerfield and Tyler Simpson, who pinch ran for Nania, advanced to second on a passed ball. Spina laid down a bunt to sacrifice Simpson to third, but the Adrian pitcher overthrew first base and Simpson tied it up. Adrian intentionally walked Professori and Roebuck to load the bases but the Bulldogs got out of a bases loaded jam to send it to extras. Adrian took advantage of a La Roche error to take a 6-4 lead in the top of the tenth. The Redhawks advanced runners to first and second in the bottom of the tenth but Adrian hung on. 

Holman went six innings and allowed just two earned runs and three hits. Hoffman hit in two and scored. Spina scored twice while Novak drove in a run and Simpson scored.

Grove City 3, Penn State Behrend 1  |  ECAC Semifinals
Grove City College did the damage in the first four innings to go ahead and stay for a two-run win and advance. Wolverine John Bini pitched to 34 out of the 35 Behrend batters and struck out seven for the win on the mound. The Lions mustered one run in the fifth inning on a ground out double play. Senior Mason McGuire had one of the two hits, scored a run and had a stolen base. Senior Phil Myers pitched 5.1 innings to start and fanned two batters for his first loss of the season. Freshman Thomas Zbezinski threw three innings of relief and allowed one hit. Designated hitter John Brittner tallied the only other hit for Behrend in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Wilson 3, Penn State Altoona 2  |  ECAC Opener
Penn State Altoona used back-to-back, two-out triples to grab the lead in the top of the first inning. Peter Jacobs' triple to right-center set the table for the Lions, and Catcher Cumming's triple to right-center drove him in to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage. Wilson responded quickly, getting one run across in the bottom of the first to tie the game. After a walk and a hit batter started the frame, Hunter Cheek's double to left brought in the tying run for the Phoenix. Wilson jumped ahead in the bottom of the third inning. Juan Rosario scored on a passed ball to put the Phoenix in front, and Cole Rinehart's RBI double to right gave the home team a 3-1 lead. Penn State Altoona got a run back in the fourth. With one out, Austin Anderson was hit by a pitch, moved up to second base on Bates' single, and then scored on an error to cut Wilson's lead to 3-2. But while the Lions put up zeroes the rest of the way, so did Wilson. Penn State Altoona was limited to just three baserunners in the game's final five innings, and the Lions were unable to cash in on any of them, losing by one run.

Jacobs went 2-for-4 for Penn State Altoona with a triple and a run scored. Dylan Bates was also 2-for-4, while Cumming was 1-for-4 with a triple and a run batted in.