ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend baseball team defeated Waynesburg 6-2 and 6-4 to earn two non-conference wins, Saturday.
In game one, Ryan Kragnes batted 3-for-4 scoring two runs while Blake Pavlik went 2-for-3 and tallied one run.
Top of the first with bases loaded, Ryan Giebel hammered a single which knocked in two runs to give the Lions (6-3) an early 2-nil lead.
Behrend returned to the scoreboard in the second by Harry Latta. A wild pitch left Latta on third after he stole second base. On the very next batter, the senior first basemen swiped home pushing the lead to 3-0.
After a Lions two-run fourth inning, the Yellow Jackets (2-9), attempted a comeback by scoring two of their own, but Behrend held on to win the first of two match ups, 6-2.
Ryan Jacobs pitched well collecting his second win on the season (2-1). Jacobs pitched five innings giving up three hits and two earned runs while striking out eight batters. Chad Zurat earned his first save of the season closing out the final six.
In game two, Matt Bittner went 2-for-3 and batted in two runners to help the Lions (7-3) to a close 6-4 victory over Waynesburg.
The second match up saw a lot of scoring early on for both teams. A Bittner first-inning double cashed in two runs for Behrend. Bittner was eventually batted in by Latta to give the Lions a 3-nill lead.
Tied at three runs a piece, Gielbel stepped in for another timely hit, this time to score Joe Paterniti off a double. Rich Doyle, was the next batter up. Doyle sent a sacrifice fly to center field to usher home Giebel which capped off a two-run inning for the Lions in the second (5-3).
Bill Spina entered the batter's box for Waynesburg with two down in the bottom of the sixth hoping to give the Yellow Jackets hope. Spina knocked in a run to close the gap, 6-4. A pitching substitution brought in Jay Condit for Behrend who immediately brought an end to the inning. The Lions were able to wrap up the two-game series against Waynesburg, winning, 6-4.
The game went to Ryan Zamiskie who went for five innings and allowed four earned runs on six hits with three K's. Condit earned his first save of year.
Behrend will return to the field on March 23, taking on Youngstown State at 3
