#1 BEHREND, #3 PITT-GREENSBURG ADVANCE AS FINAL TWO TEAMS IN WINNERS BRACKET
After day two of the AMCC Baseball Championship Tournamnet, #1 Penn State Behrend and #3 Pitt-Greensburg remain the final two unbeaten teams and will face off tomrorow at 10:00am. With two losses a piece, #5 Mount Aloysius College and #6 Pitt-Bradford have both been eliminated from the tournament. With 1-1 records, #2 Hilbert College and #4 Alfred State University will battle it out at 1:00pm, with the loser of that game going home.
#4 Alfred State d. #6 Pitt-Bradford, 4-3
Pitt-Bradford jumped out to an early lead, but Alfred State answered with a four-run fifth inning to claim a 4-3 victory Thursday in game three of the AMCC Baseball Championship Tournament.
Pitt-Bradford struck first in the top of the fourth when Grant Casses delivered a two-run double to left-center, scoring Braden Meadows and Aiden Zimmerman for a 2-0 advantage. Alfred State responded immediately in the fifth, beginning with an RBI double from Zach Young before pitcher Jordan Hughes tied the game with an RBI single. James Camacho then provided the decisive blow with a two-run double down the left field line to put the Pioneers ahead 4-2.
The Panthers trimmed the deficit to one in the seventh when Mallick Metcalfe reached on a throwing error that allowed Casses to score, but Hughes worked out of further trouble and finished the complete-game effort for Alfred State. Hughes scattered seven hits while striking out seven over nine innings to earn the win.
Casses paced Pitt-Bradford offensively with a double and two RBIs, while Meadows reached base three times. Alfred State collected 11 hits in the win, led by two-hit performances from Frank Grad, Hughes, and Aiden Cowburn.
#1 Penn State Behrend d. #5 Mount Aloysius, 20-2
In game four, top-seeded Penn State Behrend erupted for 20 runs on 16 hits to roll past Mount Aloysius College on Thursday afternoon. The Lions scored in seven different innings and built an early cushion with two runs in the first before continuing to pile on throughout the afternoon.
Silvio Ionadi and Adam Cooper each drove in four runs, with both players homering as part of Behrend's offensive explosion. Spencer Deitz also collected four RBIs, while David Gibson scored four times. The Lions drew 10 walks and took advantage of five Mount Aloysius errors, leading to seven unearned runs.
On the mound, Colin Bolla was dominant, allowing just one hit over six shutout innings while striking out 10 to improve to 8-1 on the season. Mount Aloysius broke through late with RBIs from Anthony Maseto in the seventh and ninth innings, while Tyler Alexander scored both runs and tripled in the loss.
#3 Pitt-Greensburg d. #2 Hilbert 10-2
The Pitt-Greensburg Bobcats erupted early and never looked back, rolling to a 10-2 victory over Hilbert College in game five of AMCC baseball tournament action.
The Bobcats scored in each of the first three innings to build a commanding 7-0 lead. William Somers sparked the offense with a solo home run in the first inning before adding a two-run single during a four-run second. Hunter Gideons added a huge day at the plate, finishing 3-for-3 with three RBI, including a two-run inside-the-park home run in the fifth inning.
Jonah Marks crossed the plate three times and collected three hits, while Josh Preston and Colby Rearick each had multi-hit performances as Pitt-Greensburg totaled 15 hits.
On the mound, Conner Burkey tossed a complete game to earn the win, allowing just two runs — one earned — on nine hits while striking out five over nine innings.
Hilbert managed two runs in the fifth inning on RBI singles from Harley Hoag and Dustin Hendrix, but could not recover after falling behind early.
#4 Alfred State d. #5 Mount Aloysius, 15-4
After falling behind early, Alfred State erupted for 15 runs over a six-inning stretch to power past Mount Aloysius, 15-4, on Thursday evening. The Pioneers piled up 17 hits, including home runs from Sean Connor and Christian Morrison, to take control after trailing 1-0 in the opening inning.
Connor led the offensive outburst for Alfred State, going 4-for-5 with six RBI, highlighted by a three-run homer in the sixth inning and a two-run single in the seventh. Morrison added a two-run blast in the third to give Alfred State its first lead, while Matty Eygabroad collected three hits and two RBI. Frank Grad scored four runs at the top of the lineup, and Aiden Cowburn contributed three hits, including a pair of doubles.
Mount Aloysius finished with 12 hits, led by Logan Quade's 4-for-5 effort with an RBI and a run scored. Tyler Alexander added two hits and an RBI double in the ninth inning as the Mounties pushed across three late runs. Anthony Maseto also drove in a run for Mount Aloysius.
Nathan Lucks went the distance on the mound for Alfred State, allowing four runs — only two earned — while scattering 12 hits in the complete-game victory.
Next Up:
Friday, May 8
Game 7 (10:00am): #1 Penn State Behrend vs #3 Pitt-Greensburg
Game 8 (1:00pm): #4 Alfred State vs #2 Hilbert
Game 9 (4:00pm): Loser G7 vs Winner G8
Saturday, May 9
Game 10 (11:00am): Championship Game - Winner G7 vs Winner G9
Game 11, if necessary (2:00pm): If loser of G10 earns first loss