ERIE, Pa. – For the first time since 2009, the Penn State Behrend baseball team will host the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championships, beginning tomorrow at 9 a.m.
The Lions secured the top seed in the tournament and the right to host after going 15-1 in conference play this season. Behrend will take on fifth-seed Pitt-Greensburg on Thursday at 12 p.m. La Roche earned the second seed and a first-round bye and will play against third-seed Mount Aloysius at 9 a.m.
The tournament is in a double-elimination format with the winner receiving the AMCC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Lions are led by a strong senior class, highlighted by Ryan Kragnes (Bethel Park, PA/Bethel Park) and Vinny Rice (Harmony, PA/Seneca Valley) on offense. Kragnes leads the team in hits (45), runs (39), walks (30), and stolen bases (23). Rice is having a breakout season with career-highs in hits (38), runs (19), RBIs (19), and doubles (7). The staff is paced by Ryan Jacobs (Port Vue, PA/South Allegheny). He leads both the team and AMCC in ERA (1.19) and opposing batting average (.200).
Since 2006, the winner of the AMCC regular-season title has won the post-season tournament every year except in 2010 when Behrend defeated Frostburg State.
