Behrend Baseball Ready for AMCC Championship Round Matchup vs. #6 La Roche

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The No. 2 Penn State Behrend baseball team will take on No. 6 La Roche on Friday, May 9 in the second game of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championship Round, hosted by No. 1 Mount Aloysius. Due to inclement weather expected Thursday, all games have been shifted back a day with two site locations for game one and two. Behrend will play La Roche at Point Stadium in Johnstown at 10 a.m.

The winner of this game will take on the winner of game one between Mount Aloysius and No. 4 Alfred State on Saturday, May 11, while the loser of each game will compete against each other on Friday at 3 p.m.

Coverage:

Video | Live Stats

Behrend News & Notes:

* The Lions defeated Adrian on Saturday (6-5) and fell to Mount Union on Sunday (7-5) to end the regular season
* Freshman Dylan Barnes (Pittsburgh, PA/North Hills) was named the AMCC Player of the Week, finishing
4-for-6 (.667 average) in Behrend's two games last week with two doubles, a home run, and four RBIs. He hit his third long ball of the season and led the Lions with three runs-batted in against the Purple Raiders in the regular-season finale
* Right fielder Chase Palmer (Brookville, PA/Brookville) recorded his 100^th career hit with a bunt single in the bottom of the third inning vs. Mount Union
* At Adrian, Daniel Boehme (Peters Township, PA/Seton La Salle) started the eighth inning with his 100^th career knock
* Colin Bolla (Fairview, PA/Fairview) earned the win on the mound against the Bulldogs, tossing three scoreless innings in relief, allowing no hits with two strikeouts
* Silvio Ionadi (Pittsburgh, PA/Plum) and Anthony Slate (Hopewell, PA/Hopewell) are both top five in the AMCC with .395 and .387 batting averages
* Freshman David Gibson (North East, PA/North East) leads the conference with 43 RBIs and is tied for second with five home runs
* Bolla is first in the AMCC with a 2.15 ERA and leads the Lions with 51 strikeouts in 37.2 innings pitched. Jeff Zick (Moon, PA/Our Lady of Sacred Heart) is tied for third in the conference with five wins on the mound
* In 10 appearances this season, Jake Manendo (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst Prep) leads the Lions with a 1.38 ERA, while Joe Lang (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) has picked up three saves out of the bullpen
* As a team, Behrend leads the AMCC in average (.331), on-base percentage (.418), slugging (.482), RBIs (279), home runs (22), triples (18), hits (409), and runs (323). On the bump, the Lions are first in the AMCC in hits (261), runs (159), earned runs (120), strikeouts (293), and ERA (3.69), and WHIP (1.48)
* Behrend is in search of its seventh conference title and first since 2021

Meet the Opposition:

* La Roche finished with a conference record of 7-9 to claim the final spot in the tournament
* In the first round this past Saturday, the Redhawks swept No. 3 Hilbert, 7-5 (11 inn.) and 11-1
* Junior Larry Bielawski has tallied a team-high .323 batting average with 17 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Dimitri Gary leads the Redhawks with 37 hits in 122 plate appearances
* Starter Casey Jones has struck out a conference-high 73 hitters in 69.1 innings pitched with a 3.50 ERA, while leading the team with four wins
* Reliever Reed Bursic has registered a 1.88 ERA in eight appearances
* Bielawski and Cameron Mauk were named AMCC Players To Watch for this season
* The Redhawks were selected to finish seventh in the 2024 AMCC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll
* Head coach Adam Dukate is in his third season at the helm of the baseball program

Series History:

* Dating back to 1987, Behrend leads the all-time series against La Roche, 38-36
* During the regular season, the Lions swept a doubleheader from the Redhawks

Full Tournament Schedule:

First Round: May 3-4
Best 2 of 3 game series

Friday, May 3
#6 La Roche d. #3 Hilbert
Game 1: LRU d. HIL, 7-5 (11 innings)
Game 2: LRU d. HIL, 11-1

Saturday, May 4
#4 Alfred State d. #5 Penn St. Altoona
Game 1:  ASC d. PSA, 5-4 (11 innings)
Game 2:  ASC d. PSA, 6-5

Championship Round: May 10-12 at Mount Aloysius College

Friday, May 10
10am - Game 1: #1 Mount Aloysius vs. #4 Alfred State at MAC
10am - Game 2: #2 Penn St. Behrend vs. #6 La Roche at Point Stadium (Johnstown, PA)
3pm - Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 at MAC

Saturday, May 11 at Mount Aloysius
10am - Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
2pm - Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4

Sunday, May 12 at Mount Aloysius
11am - Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
Game 7 (if needed): Same as Game 6 (to follow 30 mins. after conclusion of Game 6)