ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend baseball team moved into third place in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) with a sweep over Pitt-Bradford on Thursday afternoon. The Lions posted a 10-2 opening win and 9-8 (12) nightcap victory.
Game One (Seven Innings)
Scores: Penn State Behrend 10, Pitt-Bradford 2
Records: Penn State Behrend (17-9, 6-3 AMCC), Pitt-Bradford (14-11, 7-6 AMCC)
Key Moments
* The Lions tallied 13 hits and scored a run in every inning to win in convincing fashion
* Ryan Weaver (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin) was a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a stolen base
* Scott Sada (Saegertown, PA/Saegertown), who is on a 21-game hitting streak, made both hits doubles to add to collection and inching closer to the NCAA Division I record
* Starter Thomas Zbezinski (Gibsonia, PA/Pine Richland) threw his third complete game to collect his fifth win
* Zbezinski allowed two earned runs and struck out six
* Mason McGuire (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) had two RBI single to right field to score Sada and John Brittner (Zelienople, PA/Seneca Valley) for the first pair of runs of the game
* McGuire hit Behrend's first home run on their home field this season in the third inning to push the lead to 4-0
* Sada and Joshua Wagner (South Park, PA/South Park) each doubled in the bottom of the sixth to score the final two runs for a 10-2 margin
Game Two (12 Innings)
Scores: Penn State Behrend 9, Pitt-Bradford 8
Records: Penn State Behrend (18-9, 7-3 AMCC), Pitt-Bradford (14-12, 7-7 AMCC)
Key Moments:
* Josh Wagner ripped a RBI single to right center, bringing Brittner home off second for the game-winning run in the bottom of the 12th
* Down a run in the bottom of the 12th, the Lions were at the top of the order to start the inning
* Ian Taylor (Wexford, PA/Vincentian Academy) led off with a bunt single and pinch runner Hunter Jamison (Shaler, PA/Shaler Area) scored on Brittner's second double of the game
* Sada was intentionally walked for the second time, before Wagner's heroics game-winning RBI hit sent Brittner to the plate for a 9-8 final in extra innings
* Pitt-Bradford had one out and bases loaded on two occasions and the Lions escaped with just one run in the top of the ninth
* Only one run separated the two teams for 11 innings with a see-saw battle until the end
* Panthers got a pair of home runs to keep them in the game, including Jake McNabb's in the top of the 11th for a 7-6 lead
* Freshman Zach Bowen (Plum Borough, PA/Serra Catholic) kept Behrend alive in the bottom of the 11th with a single to right center to score Weaver to make it 7-all
* Relief pitcher Eric Mikulan (Pittsburgh, PA/Hampton) came in for starter Phil Myers (DuBois, PA/DuBois Central Catholic) and pitched five innings, before Brennan Keillor (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler) got his first win of his career with one inning of work
Noteworthy:
* Senior hurler Phil Myers reached 150 career strikeouts by fanning four batters in game two
Next Up
* The Behrend Lions return to action on Saturday for Senior Day against Penn State Altoona. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 1 p.m.