ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend baseball team fell in this season's I-90 Cup against Fredonia State 9-3 Monday afternoon in non-conference action.
The Blue Devils (15-12) struck first, plating two runs in the top of the first beginning with a lead-off triple by Matt Heffernan followed by a Derek Fie single. Fredonia registered another run later from an infield groundout.
The Lions (16-13) responded with a pair of runs of their own to even the score at 2-all. After Mason McGuire (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) singled to left field, Scott Sada (Saegertown, PA/Saegertown) laced a shot to left center field and hustled his way to third base for a triple. Later in the inning, Sada scored to tie the game after the first inning.
In the next inning, a pair of doubles and singles led Fredonia to post four runs in the inning to secure a 6-2 advantage over Behrend.
The Lions would only get one run the remainder of the game, coming in the fifth inning,
A lead-off single from Holden Stevanus (Erie, PA/Cathedral Prep) started the inning off on the right foot for Behrend. Ryan Hamm (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) matched him with a single to right center to put runners of the corners.
After a fly-out for the first out of the inning, Sada notched a sacrifice fly to center field to score Stevanus from third. However, the center fielder gunned down Hamm at second base to end the scoring for the Lions.
Zach Murray (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) batted 2-for-3 in the game, while McGuire hit 2-for-4. Sada went 1-for-3, tallying the team's only two RBIs.
Ben Ramey (Export, PA/Franklin Regional) got the start on the hump for the Lions. He lasted seven innings, giving up three runs on nine hits while also fanning four batters.
The Lions will look to shake this loss off this Wednesday for an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) double header against D'Youville. The games are set for 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on the Behrend diamond.