ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend baseball team defeated Pitt-Bradford twice on Monday afternoon behind dominant starting performances from Chad Zurat (Clearfield, PA/Clearfield) and Dante DeSantis (DuBois, PA/DuBois).
In the Lions 3-0 game-one victory, Zurat put together one of the greatest pitching performances in Behrend history. The senior hurled a complete-game shutout, striking out 15 Panthers in the process. At one point, he punched-out eight consecutive Bradford players, and even accomplished the rare feat of striking out four in one inning due to a batter who reached first on a wild pitch.
Brian Bohman (Erie, PA/McDowell) scored the game's first run, coming home from third on a passed ball in the bottom of the first.
Zurat and Pitt-Bradford starter Aaron Cressley then put up scoreless inning after scoreless inning, keeping the contest 1-0, Behrend, until the bottom of the sixth. With two down Casey Kern (Monroeville, PA/Gateway) gave the Lions a pair of insurance runs with a two-run single to left, scoring Alex Margraf (Erie, PA/McDowell) and Jordan Weinzierl (St. Mary's, PA/St. Mary's).
In the seventh, Zurat retired the side to preserve the win. The senior allowed just two hits while walking only one batter, and his 15 strikeouts were just one shy of tying a Behrend single-game record.
DeSantis was nearly as dominant in the second game, going the distance while mowing down six in a 3-2 Lions victory.
Again, Behrend (25-11, 13-3 AMCC) struck in the opening frame. With two outs and runners on second and third, Ryan Finnegan (Fombell, PA/Riverside) reached on an infield single that plated Weinzierl and John Hlavinka (Venetia, PA/Peters Township).
The Panthers (19-12, 9-7) came back in the top of the third, tying the contest on a pair of sacrifice flys.
The Lions, however, took the lead for good in the bottom of the inning. Wieinzierl reached on an error and then stole second. Two batters later, Nathan Junk (Cabot, PA/Knoch) send him home with an RBI-single to left, giving Behrend a 3-2 lead.
A one-run advantage was all DeSantis needed. The senior retired the next seven batters he faced. He allowed just one Bradford hitter to reach base after the third inning, as the Lions held on for the 3-2 win.
With their victories on Monday, Behrend has wrapped up the number two seed and a first-round bye in the AMCC Tournament. The Lions, who have now won nine straight games, will close out the regular season on Tuesday, April 29 at 4 p.m. at Otterbein.