ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend baseball team defeated Mount Aloysius 11-2 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Tournament on Friday afternoon.
With the win, the Lions (29-10) will now play for the AMCC Championship on Saturday morning.
Behrend got on the board early with one run in the first and three in the second to take command. Matt Bittner (Lancaster, NY/St. Mary's) came through with a two-out RBI single in the first, giving the Lions a 1-0 lead.
In the second, Taylor Overby (Nazareth, PA/Bethlehem Catholic) ripped a two-run double to add to the advantage. Overby eventually came around to score to put Behrend up, 4-0.
The Lions went scoreless in the third and fourth innings but erupted for six runs on seven hits in the fifth. Evan Bukowski (Washington, PA/Trinity) and Bittner drove in runs on back-to-back plate appearances. With two outs, Jordan Weinzierl (St. Marys, PA/St. Marys) clutched up and crushed a two-run single to center. Overby and Ryan Kragnes (Bethel Park, PA/Bethel Park) also added two-out RBI singles to cap the scoring with the Lions holding a 10-0 lead.
The Mounties answered with two in the sixth, but it was not nearly enough to catch Behrend.
Ryan Jacobs (Port Vue, PA/South Allegheny) earned the win with six strong innings of work. The victory for Jacobs made him the program's all-time leader in career wins with 28.
Connor Semple (Washington, PA/McGuffey), Matt Parnes (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley), and Jay Condit (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) each threw an inning of scoreless relief.
The Lions' offense was led by Kragnes, John Hlavinka (Venetia, PA/Peters Township), and Bittner who each recorded three hits. Overby drove in three runs for Behrend with Bittner and Weinzierl each contributing two RBIs.
Behrend will try to win their fifth AMCC Championship on Saturday against the winner of La Roche and Mount Aloysius. The Redhawks and Mounties elimination game was suspended in the top of the seventh due to inclement weather with La Roche leading, 10-1. The completion of the game will begin at 10:30 a.m. with the winner facing the Lions approximately 30 minutes after the final out.