ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend baseball team dropped a wild 16-11 decision to Allegheny on Thursday afternoon at the Behrend Diamond.
Throughout the contest, both squads were forced to battle howling winds that made even the laziest of fly balls anything but routine.
Nathan Junk (Cabot, PA/Knoch) reached base all five times for the Lions (11-7) in the loss. The junior had a remarkable day, going 4-for-4 with three doubles, two RBI's, and two runs scored.
With Behrend trailing 4-1 with two outs in the bottom of the second, Jordan Weinzierl (St. Mary's, PA/St. Mary's) and Ryan Finnegan (Fombell, PA/Riverside) drilled back-to-back RBI singles to cut the deficit to one.
Then, down 5-3 entering the bottom of the third, the Lions offense exploded for a six-spot. After a Junk RBI double, Matt Wolczko (Apollo, PA/Kiski) drove in a run with a single. Eric Wehler (St. Mary's, PA/Elk County Catholic) followed with a two-run single that gave Behrend a 7-5 lead.
Finnegan and Alex Margraf (Erie, PA/McDowell) capped off the inning with a pair of RBI hits, and the Lions led 9-5 after three.
After a scoreless fourth inning -- the only scoreless frame of the contest -- the Gators (14-6) got a run back in the top of the fifth. But Behrend extended its lead with two more in the bottom of the inning. John Hlavinka (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) ripped an RBI single up the middle, and Junk then nailed another run-scoring double. The Lions led 11-6, but it was an advantage that did not hold up.
Allegheny staged a stunning comeback, scoring three in the sixth, four in the seventh, two in the eighth, and one in the ninth, while holding Behrend scoreless throughout the duration of the game. All told, the Gators posted 10 unanswered runs. Allegheny was paced by infielders Joe Killian and Jacob Shick, who each had five hits and three runs batted in.
Weinzierl and Wehler each had three hits and two RBI's for the Lions, while Finnegan drove in two runs on two base knocks.
Behrend will return to conference action on Saturday, April 12 when they visit Mt. Aloysius for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
