Barnes’ Three-Run Homer Lifts No. 1 Behrend Past No. 4 Hilbert

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The No. 1 Penn State Behrend baseball team recorded a seven-run sixth inning to take down No. 4 Hilbert in the fourth game of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Tournament on Thursday afternoon at Point Stadium.

Score: Penn State Behrend 10, Hilbert 5
Records: Penn State Behrend (28-9), Hilbert (19-18)

Key Moments:

* The Lions got on the board first with a two-out ground-rule double from Hank Shaffer (Saegertown, PA/Saegertown) in the second inning
* Silvio Ionadi (Pittsburgh, PA/Plum) led off the third inning with a home run to dead center, his second long ball of the season
* Hilbert knotted the score at two with an RBI triple and homer by Jack Duffek and Patrick Evans
* Kyle Borrello gave the Hawks their first lead of the day with a two-out RBI single up the middle in the top of the fifth (3-2)
* The next Hilbert hitter found the gap, but a good relay from the Behrend defense cut Borrello down at home plate to end the inning
* The Hawks tacked on two more runs (5-2) in the top of the sixth with an RBI triple from Nolan Evans and sacrifice fly from P. Evans
* In the bottom of the sixth, the Lions stormed back to take the lead (9-5) with seven runs on four hits with the big blow in the inning being a three-run home run off the bat of Dylan Barnes (Pittsburgh, PA/North Hills). This was the first round tripper of the season for Barnes
* Freshman Cayden Turner (Stoystown, PA/North Star) capped the inning off with a two-out RBI single
* 12 Lions got to the plate and four batters tallied an RBI in the seventh
* Back-to-back two-out knocks in the eighth inning led to another RBI by Shaffer to extend Behrend's lead to five (10-5)
* Jake Manendo (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst Prep) earned his second win of the season out of the bullpen, tossing 1.2 innings and only allowing a run on one hit with one strikeout
* Junior Jack Baumgartel (Sewickley, PA/North Allegheny) threw two scoreless/hitless innings to close out the win, striking out the side in the ninth
* Six Lions finished with two hits in Thursday's contest, while Barnes and Shaffer each drove in a game-high three runs
* For Hilbert, Dustin Hendrix went 2-for-4

Up Next:

* No. 1 Behrend advances to tomorrow to go up against No. 6 Pitt-Bradford. First pitch is scheduled for noon