Behrend Baseball Prepped for Home-Opening Doubleheader vs. Franciscan

ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend baseball team will compete on its home field for the first time this season with a non-conference doubleheader against Franciscan on Saturday, March 29. Game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Coverage:

Video | Game One Stats | Game Two Stats

Behrend News & Notes:

* The Lions fell 8-3 at Allegheny on Thursday
* Daniel Boehme (Peters Township, PA/Seton LaSalle) went 3-for-4 at the plate, while Silvio Ionadi (Pittsburgh, PA/Plum) and Mac Ciocco (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) each recorded two hits against the Gators
* To start the season, Cayden Turner (Stoystown, PA/North Star) (.577) and Ciocco (.429) lead the team in batting average, while Turner has a team-high .607 on-base percentage
* Turner and Spencer Deitz (Erie, PA/McDowell) have driven in a team-best nine runs so far this year
* On the mound, sophomores Andrew Bredel (Clinton, PA/Burgettstown) (three wins) and Colin Bolla (Fairview, PA/Fairview) (25 strikeouts) lead the Lions in wins and strikeouts
* Relievers Joe Lang (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) and Jake Manendo (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst Prep) have combined for 25 strikeouts and five saves out of the bullpen
* Lang is currently three strikeouts away from 100 career K's, while Ciocco stands five RBIs from 100 career runs batted in
* Behrend was selected to finish first in the 2025 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Preseason Coaches' Poll
* Ionadi and Bolla were named Preseason Players to Watch

Meet the Opposition:

* Franciscan has started the season with a 6-9 overall record, going 1-3 this week in doubleheaders against Waynesburg and Mount Aloysius
* The Barons lone win came in 11 innings of game one vs. the Yellow Jackets. Freshman John Fusco delivered a walk-off home run to lead off the bottom of the 11^th
* Fusco (.426) is joined by Josiah Bodie (.448) and Nicholas Peffer (.429) as players who have started the season with a batting average over .400
* Fusco has also recorded a team-best two homers, six doubles, and 14 RBIs
* Starter Jeremy Sagun leads the Barons with 12 strikeouts in 24.1 innings pitched, while Wade Stoehr has three wins in five appearances so far this year
* Stoehr, a 2024 All-PAC Honorable Mention, was named a Preseason Player to Watch along with Bodie, Fusco, Peter Falconite, and Andrew Heidemann
* Head coach Rick Carver is in his sixth season at the helm of the baseball program

Series History:

* Behrend leads the all-time series 9-0, dating back to 2009