GROVE CITY, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend baseball team closed out the regular season with two wins over Grove City on Saturday afternoon at Behringer Field.
The Lions took game one 4-2 behind big outings from Jordan Weinzierl (St. Mary's, PA/St. Mary's) and Alex Margraf (Erie, PA/McDowell). Behrend's three and four hitters combined for six hits and three runs scored in the victory.
The Lions jumped out to a 3-0 lead thanks to Brandon Bergstrom's (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) RBI fielder's choice in the second and Nathan Junk's (Cabot, PA/Knoch) two-run double to left-center in the top of the third. The Wolverines struck twice in the bottom of the inning, but Behrend came right back in the very next frame.
After Brian Bohman (Erie, PA/McDowell) and John Hlavinka (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) singled, Weinzierl drilled an RBI-hit, scoring Bohman to give the Lions a 4-2 advantage.
A two-run lead was more than enough for the Behrend bullpen. After starting pitcher Chad Zurat (Clearfield, PA/Clearfield) struck out five in four innings of work, Justin Rohrer (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) hurled two scoreless frames in relief, setting down four.
Connor Semple (Washington, PA/McGuffey) then pitched a perfect seventh to earn his first career save.
In game two, Dante DeSantis (DuBois, PA/DuBois Central Catholic) earned his team-leading eighth victory of the season as the Lions (27-12) defeated Grove City, 5-1.
Hlavinka opened the scoring in the top of the third when he hit into a run-scoring fielder's choice that plated Eric Wehler (St. Mary's, PA/Elk County Catholic). Travis Royer tied things up for the Wolverines (9-25) in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single, but Behrend took the lead for good in the top of the fifth.
With one down, Bohman doubled to right-center. Hlavinka followed with a single that put runners on second and third. Weinzierl then smashed an RBI-single to left, scoring Bohman. After a double-steal, Hlavinka came home on Margraf's sacrifice fly.
Leading 3-1, the Lions added insurance runs in the each of the final two innings to fortify the lead. In the sixth, Ryan Finnegan (Fombell, PA/Riverside) led off with a double and was eventually plated following a Grove City error. Then, in the seventh, Hlavinka scored on Finnegan's sacrifice fly.
DeSantis threw six strong innings in the victory, and Semple again pitched a perfect seventh for Behrend.
Hlavinka and Bohman combined for four hits, three runs scored, and a run batted in.
The Lions will enter this week's AMCC Tournament red-hot, having won 14 of their last 16 games dating back to April 18. Behrend will take on Mt. Aloysius on Friday, May 9 at noon.
