BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT KICKS OFF THIS WEEKEND

The AMCC Baseball Championship Tournament begins this weekend with first round games when No. 5 Penn State Altoona travels to No. 4 Alfred State College and No. 3 Hilbert College hosts No. 6 La Roche University. Top seed Mount Aloysius College has earned hosting rights for the Championship Round on May 9-11. Mount Aloysius and No. 2 Penn State Behrend will each receive first round byes.

With an 11-5 record in conference play, Mount Aloysius clinched the program's first-ever regular season conference championship and the No. 1 seed and hosting rights in the conference tournament. Junior OF/P Tyler Quade leads the Mountie offense and ranks second in the AMCC wtih a .409 batting average, while also leading the league with 20 stolen bases. Quade has also been a leader on the mound, as he is tied for second in the AMCC with 60 strikeouts, ranks fourth with a 3.26 ERA, and is tied for fourth in the conference with four wins. Junior INF John Griffith ranks fifth in the conference with a .397 batting average and his 37 RBI are second-best in the league. Junior UTIL Zack Peck is tied for third in the AMCC with five home runs on the season, while junior RHP Chris Hasse is fifth with 51 strikeouts on the mound. 

Penn State Behrend enters the tournament with a 10-5-1 record and the No. 2 seed. Senior OF Anthony Slate ranks third in the AMCC with a .405 batting average, he's recorded 45 hits, 27 RBI and has scored 29 runs for the Lions this season. Sophomore INF Silvio Ionadi is right behind Slate with a .400 batting average, good for fourth in the league. He leads the AMCC with six triples and 47 runs scored, while ranking seventh with 14 stolen bases. Senior P Jeff Zick is tied for second in the AMCC with five wins on the mound. Sophomore Ethan Tinker leads Behrend with a 3.75 ERA while freshman Colin Bolla recorded a team-leading 49 strikeouts on the year. 

No. 3 seed Hilbert enters the tournament with a 10-6 conference record. The Hawk offense is led by trio Patrick Whelan (.368), John Riviere-Vejas (.366), and Jairo Santos (.366). Whelan is tied for third in the AMCC with five home runs and is ninth with 30 RBI. Riviere-Vejas is second in the league with 19 stolen bases and Santos has added 28 RBI and 15 stolen bases. Sophomore P Ronald Mort tops the AMCC with a 2.63 ERA and has recorded 22 strikeouts while picking up three wins on the season. Junior Brendan Walsh ranks third in the conference with five saves.

Alfred State brings a 9-7 record in conference play and will be the No. 4 seed. The Pioneers are led offensively by senior INF Elijah Barinas with a .386 batting average, including 31 runs scored and 20 RBI, while his 16 stolen bases are fourth-best in the league. Junior SS Caleb Walker is tied for first in the AMCC with six home runs and has recorded 17 RBI. Junior P Ryan Bailey leads the conference with 61 strikeouts, while throwing five complete games this season. Seniors Jon White and Chris Mattoon lead the Pioneer pitching staff with 3.88 and 3.90 ERAs, respectively.

Coming in with an 8-8 record is No. 5 Penn State Altoona. Junior P/INF Corey Chamberlain leads the Lions with 27 RBI, 31 runs scored, and 11 doubles while hitting at a .333 clip. Sophomore 1B Jonathan Rauch has contributed with 26 RBI, 24 runs scored and four home runs, while Jake Hillard has added 28 runs scored, 23 RBI and seven stolen bases. On the mound, Chamberlain leads the AMCC with eight saves in 7.2 innings pitched and a 0.0 ERA. Sophomore RHP Eric Seick leads the Lion pitching staff with four wins and 36 strikeouts. 

Rounding out the field is No. 6 La Roche with a 7-9 record. Senior OF/C Dimitri Gary has scored a team-leading 23 runs and also leads the Redhawks with three home runs this year. Junior UTIL/P Larry Bielawski is hitting .307 with 14 runs scored, 13 RBI and 10 stolen bases. Casey Jones and Bielawski lead the Redhawk pitching staff with three wins each. Jones ranks fourth in the conference with 59 strikeouts and carries a 3.88 ERA.