Behrend Opens Conference Play With Sweep At Pitt-Bradford; Ciocco Records 100th RBI

BRADFORD, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend baseball team began Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) play with a doubleheader sweep at Pitt-Bradford on Friday.

Game One: Penn State Behrend 4, Pitt-Bradford 2
Records: Penn State Behrend (11-6, 1-0 AMCC), Pitt-Bradford (10-9, 0-3 AMCC)

Key Moments:

* Behrend starter Colin Bolla (Fairview, PA/Fairview) worked out of a first and third jam in the bottom of the first with a strikeout looking
* A pair of two-out RBI singles in the second inning from David Gibson (North East, PA/North East) and Hank Shaffer (Saegertown, PA/Saegertown) gave the Lions an early 2-0 lead
* Pitt-Bradford cut the deficit to one (2-1) on a two-out RBI single in the third from Alex Ognen
* The Lions added two more runs on a Panthers error and an RBI single off the bat of Tyler Burick (Erie, PA/Harbor Creek) in the fourth
* The Panthers loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth, but Bolla only surrendered one run as he was able to get out of the inning with a double play and a groundout
* Reliever Joe Lang (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) pitched a scoreless bottom of the seventh, striking out two batters to earn his third save of the season
* Bolla picked up his third win, tossing six innings to go along with four hits, two runs, and four strikeouts
* Burick and Thomas Nicely (Delmont, PA/Franklin Regional) each recorded two hits for Behrend in game one
* Pitt-Bradford in the first game on Friday had four different players tally a hit with Ognen driving in the lone run

Game Two: Penn State Behrend 12, Pitt-Bradford 5
Records: Penn State Behrend (12-6, 2-0 AMCC), Pitt-Bradford (10-10, 0-4 AMCC)

Key Moments:

* The Lions grabbed another early lead, this time coming in the top of the first
* Senior Daniel Boehme (Peters Township, PA/Seton LaSalle) delivered a two-out RBI double and then was plated on an error by the Panthers shortstop
* Pitt-Bradford responded in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single from Blake Prestash
* The Panthers threatened for more runs, but Cayden Turner ended the first with a leaping catch in center field
* Behrend attempted another two out rally in the top of the second by loading the bases, but Pitt-Bradford starter Collin Porter was able to get out of the jam
* A pair of errors by the Lions in the bottom of the second would give the Panthers two runs and their first lead of the day (3-2)
* The Lions retook the lead with five runs on four hits in the top of the third inning (7-3)
* The big blows in the inning were a two-run single from Mac Ciocco (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) and an RBI double from Burick
* Behrend notched another five-run inning in the sixth
* Burick registered two more runs batted in with a two-run single, while Shaffer, Ciocco, Silvio Ionadi (Pittsburgh, PA/Plum), and Ciocco tacked on three more runs with two singles and sacrifice fly to extend Behrend's advantage to 12-3
* This marked the 100^th career run batted in for Ciocco
* The Panthers scored a run in the seventh and eighth innings to cut their deficit to seven (12-5)
*  Out of the bullpen, Sawyer Prince (Shinglehouse, PA/Port Allegany) and Jack Baumgartel (Sewickley, PA/North Allegheny) sealed the doubleheader sweep with scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth
* Game two starter Andrew Bredel (Clinton, PA/Burgettstown) earned his fourth win of the season, only allowing one earned run and one walk in six innings with a career-high nine strikeouts
* Boehme finished 3-for-5 with two doubles, while Ciocco, Nicely, and Burick each tallied two hits apiece for the Lions
* Trent Bielak led Pitt-Bradford in game two with two hits

Up next:

* The Lions will play a single non-conference contest at home against Fredonia on Monday, April 7. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m.