GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend baseball team dropped its first game in over two weeks in non-conference action Monday afternoon, falling to Thiel, 10-9.
The Lions (15-6) held an 8-4 lead in the bottom of the eighth, but the Tomcats put up six runs over the final two innings to get past Behrend.
Matt Bittner (Lancaster, NY/St. Mary's) got the Lions on the board early with a two-run triple in the first inning. Vinny Rice (Harmony, PA/Seneca Valley) drove in another run for Behrend to give the Lions a 3-0 lead. Behrend added to the lead in the second. After Ryan Kragnes (Bethel Park, PA/Bethel Park) hit a sacrifice fly and John Hlavinka (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) ripped an RBI double, the Lions had some breathing room with a 6-0 lead.
Thiel plated their first run in the third, but Hlavinka drove in his second run of the game in the fourth to keep the advange at six runs. In the fifth, the Tomcats began to chip away at the deficit with two runs in the fifth and a single run in the sixth.
In the eighth, Thiel stole the momemtum and took their first lead of the game. The Tomcats scored five runs on four hits and with just three outs to get on defense held a 9-8 lead. In the top of the ninth, Kragnes drew a one-out walk and came around to tie the game on a wild pitch. Despite Behrend's effort to win their ninth consecutive game, Thiel walked off with the win on a single in the bottom half of the inning.
Hlavinka led the Lions' offense with two hits, two RBIs and one run. Connor Semple (Washington, PA/McGuffey) took a no-decision on the mound after throwing 5.1 innings and only allowing two earned runs.
Behrend will travel to Allegheny tomorrow for a non-conference game beginning at 3 p.m.