ERIE, Pa. - The Penn State Behrend baseball team opened Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) action Wednesday afternoon, sweeping Hilbert, 7-3 and 8-2.
Scott Sada (Saegertown, PA/Saegertown) had a huge day for the Lions (8-8, 2-0 AMCC), going 6-for-8 from the plate on the day. The sophomore second baseman recorded five RBIs and three doubles.
Sada started his day in the first inning of the first game, driving in Ryan Hamm (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) with a single to give Behrend the early 1-0 lead. Hamm reached base on a double down the left field line.
Sada eventually came all the way around to score on an error by the pitcher on an attempted pickoff.
The following inning, the Lions rallied with two outs to add three more runs to their lead. Brandon Bergstrom (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) ripped a triple down the right field line to plate one. After Hamm walked, Sada came through with a two-out double that brought both Bergstrom and Hamm in to score.
Lions starter Phil Myers (DuBois, PA/DuBois Central Catholic) continued to cruise on the mound, holding the Hawks (5-8, 0-2) to three-straight 1-2-3 innings to start the game. Hilbert managed to add their first run of the game with a two-hit inning in the fourth and then one more run in the fifth to make it 6-2.
In the top of the sixth, Behrend plated their final run of the game when Mason McGuire (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) got hit my a pitch with the bases loaded, scoring Bergstrom.
Sada finished game one going 2-for-3 from the plate and three RBIs. McGuire added two RBIs, one hit, and one drawn walk.
Hamm came around to score three times and added two walks and a hit.
Myers had a stellar day on the mound, improving to 3-0 on the season. He pitched a complete game five-hitter and struck out seven.
Game two featured two three-run innings for the Lions while collecting 13 hits.
In the first inning, Bergstrom and Hamm led off with being hit by a pitch and walked, respectively. Sada came to the plate and singled to score Bergstrom, making in a 1-0 ballgame. A balk by the Hawks pitcher scored another Behrend run before Sada came in two batters later on a fielder's choice.
Hilbert added runs in the first and third innings to bring the game back within one, but Behrend went on to score five unanswered runs for the remainder of the game.
Bergstrom picked up an RBI single in the fourth, making the score 4-2. Two innings later, three Lions scored to extend their lead, 7-2.
Jonathan Wilson (Westfield, NY/Westfield) got things going with a leadoff walk in the sixth. Zach Murray then moved Wilson to second with a sacrifice bunt. Two batters later, Hamm singled to score Wilson. Sada then stepped to the plate and doubled down the left-field line to score Hamm.
Later in the inning, Sada came home on another balk by the Hawk's pitcher.
Sada added four hits in the game while both Bergstrom and Justin Foreman (Oakdale, PA/South Fayette) added two.
Justin Rohrer picked up his second win of the season after throwing seven strong innings. He struck out 11 while giving up six hits. Alex Hajduk (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) added two innings of relief, allowing just one hit.
Behrend will be back in action this Saturday when they travel to Cresson, Pa. to take on Mt. Aloysius in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.