CRESSON, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend baseball team clinched an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) playoff spot with a pair of wins over Mt. Aloysius on Saturday afternoon. The Lions won 9-4 in the opener and 22-12 in game two.
Game One (Seven Innings)
Scores: Penn State Behrend 9, Mt. Aloysius 4
Records: Penn State Behrend (22-12, 11-6 AMCC), Mt. Aloysius (25-12, 12-5 AMCC)
Key Moments
* The Lions fell behind by two runs after the first inning
* Behrend used two hits and four runs with no outs showing in the fourth to take the lead, and for good
* Scott Sada (Saegertown, PA/Saegertown) made his only hit a home run in the fifth to score two for a 6-2 lead
* The Lions added a run in the sixth off a sacrifice fly from John Brittner (Zelienople, PA/Seneca Valley) and two more in the seventh
* Mason McGuire (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) had two triples for three RBI
* Thomas Zbezinski (Gibsonia, PA/Pine Richland) earned his seventh win of the season in 5.2 innings of work, while fanning four
* Reliever Eric Mikulan (Pittsburgh, PA/Hampton) posted his first save of the season, coming in with two outs and striking out his only batter in the sixth and allowing one hit in the seventh
Game Two (Nine Innings)
Scores: Penn State Behrend 22, Mt. Aloysius 12
Records: Penn State Behrend (23-12, 12-6 AMCC), Mt. Aloysius (25-13, 12-6 AMCC)
Key Moments:
* Behrend tied its largest offensive output twice in one week with 22 runs on 20 hits
* The Lions scored 16 runs in the last three innings
* Sada and Ian Taylor (Wexford, PA/Vincentian Academy) each tallied four hits
* Sada had a pair of doubles and Taylor drove in three runs with his second collegiate home run while scoring five runs in the leadoff position
* Phil Myers (DuBois, PA/DuBois Central Catholic) keeps an unblemished record on the mound with his seventh win
* The Mounties grabbed a 4-2 lead after the third inning, but Behrend used four hits to score four runs in the fifth to stay ahead
* Mt. Aloysius went through 10 pitchers with the first reliever Nick Lagnese suffering the loss
* Behrend was walked 10 out of its 44 at-bats
* Zack Bowen (Plum Borough, PA/Serra Catholic) went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored
Noteworthy:
* Sada needs nine more hits to become the program's all-time leader in hits. Josh Fyffe holds the record at 264. The senior is seven doubles away from breaking the NCAA Division I record set at 95. He currently sits at 89 career doubles.
Next Up
* The Behrend Lions return to action on Sunday, May 5 against Mt. Union for a single nine-inning game at 2 p.m.
