ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend baseball team closed out their Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) regular season campaign with a sweep of Medaille, winning 9-1 and 12-3 Wednesday afternoon.
The Lions' (23-13, 12-4 AMCC) set their bats on fire during the double header, registering 13 hits in game one and 16 in game two. The Mavericks (8-21, 3-10 AMCC) pitching staff just did not have an answer for Behrend's lineup.
John Hlavinka (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) combined to go 3-for-7 with three RBIs and three runs scored. After the double header, he now sits in sole possession of fourth place in the Lions' all-time hits record books (200) and fifth in runs scored (141).
Justin Rohrer (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) flirted with perfection on the mound in game one. He threw a seven inning, complete game, surrendering only two hits and one unearned run while whiffing six.
He had a no hitter going through 4.1 innings when a single broke up the bid. Rohrer was also looking for the shutout, but a hit batter and single after a passed ball broke up the shutout bid as well in the seventh. Nonetheless, Rohrer threw his second straight two-hit outing and has not surrendered an earned run since April 8 (21.2 innings).
Behrend scored three runs in the first and sixth in the fourth to set up their big game one victory. With two outs in the first, Brian Bohman (Erie, PA/McDowell) tripled down the right field line and David Boehme (Venetia, PA/Seton-Le Salle) roped a single up the middle to score Bohman.
Nathan Noe (Albion, PA/Northwestern) and Brandon Bergstrom (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) then hit back-to-back RBI singles that gave the Lions an early 3-0 lead.
The sixth was a big inning for Behrend, scoring six runs on seven hits all without recording an out. Rohrer shut the door from there and secured their first win.
Justin Foreman (Oakdale, PA/South Fayette) went 4-for-4 with a single, two doubles, a homer, walk and five RBIs to nearly hit for the cycle in game two. Boehme, Hlavinka, Bohman and Bergstrom added two hits apiece and Boehme notched three RBIs to finish with five on the day.
One run in the second and third gave Behrend a 2-0 lead before Medaille cut the deficit in half in the fourth. The Lions added four runs in the fourth and six more in the sixth to break the game wide open.
Eric Mikulan (Pittsburgh, PA/Hampton) got the starting nod and picked up his team-leading fifth win. He threw six strong innings, surrendering six hits and a run while striking out three. Brandon Smail (Apollo, PA/Kiski Area) and Boehme appeared in relief to shut the door and close out the sweep of the Mavericks.
The Lions are back in action Saturday with a double header at Alfred State scheduled for 1 and 3:30 p.m.
