Behrend Baseball Defeats La Roche; Lions Force Game Three in Championship Series

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend baseball team battled back from a 9-4 game-one loss to defeat La Roche 6-4 in game two and forcing a game three in the 2021 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championships held on Wednesday.

Game Two:
Score: Penn State Behrend 6, La Roche 4
Records: Penn State Behrend (24-11), La Roche (20-2)

* The Lions handed the Redhawks their second loss of the season to stay alive in the championship series
* Thomas Zbezinski (Gibsonia, PA/Pine-Richland) had a career-high 12 strikeouts en route to his seventh win for the Lions
* Zbezinski pitched the first six innings and only gave up three hits
* Zack Bowen (Pittsburgh, PA/Serra Catholic) registered the save with relief in the final inning of work
* Behrend scored all six runs in the fourth inning on three hits and one error
* Josh Wagner (South Park, PA/South Park) led off being hit by a pitch, Colin Harger (Pittsburgh, PA/Sharler) singled and Juston Jones (Moon Township, PA/Moon) reached on an error to load the bases
* With no outs showing, Isaac Stouffer (Punxsutawney, PA/Punxsutawney) smacked a three RBI double to center field
* The Lions loaded the bases once again and La Roche pitcher Tristan Tinney walked Anthony Slate (Hopewell, PA/Hopewell) for another run
* Wagner was able get two more runs in with a single to center field for a 6-0 lead
* La Roche cut the lead to three in the seventh and threatened in the bottom of the ninth with another run for the final margin

Game One:
Score:  La Roche 9, Penn State Behrend 4
Records: Penn State Behrend (23-11), La Roche (20-1)

Key Moments:

* After the Redhawks grabbed a 3-0 lead in the third, the Lions went ahead 4-3 with four runs in the fourth
* Wagner doubled to left center to put the Lions in scoring position for the first time in the game
* Wagner got Behrend on the board after a balk put him on third and then coming home on a Harger single
* Bases loaded, Jacob Deitz's (Erie, PA/McDowell) sacrifice fly got Harger off third before Braden Paulinellie (DuBois, PA/DuBois) hit a two-RBI single to center field for a 4-3 edge
* La Roche answered with back-to-back homers to quickly add three runs back for a 6-4 advantage going into the fifth
* The Redhawks tacked on three more runs in the sixth
* Starter Derrick Shields (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) suffered his first loss on the mound pitching five and a third inning, striking out seven
* Wagner tallied a pair of doubles in the game

Up Next: 

* Behrend returns to action tomorrow for the final game of the series against La Roche for the AMCC Title. Game time is 1 p.m.