ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend baseball team is set to begin postseason play next week as the No. 2 seed in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Tournament. After earning a first-round bye, the Lions have added two games this weekend against top-10 teams.
On Saturday, Behrend will travel to Seton Hill to face the No. 7 Division II team in the country according to most recent National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Poll. The Griffins are the No. 1 team in the Atlantic Region as well.
The Lions have also added No. 1 Marietta to their schedule on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Pioneers are the top Division III team in the latest d3baseball.com/NCBWA poll.
Behrend has been led all season by a strong pitching staff. Dante DeSantis (DuBois, PA/DuBois Central Catholic), Ryan Jacobs (Port Vue, PA/South Allegheny), Mike Moyer (Clearfield, PA/Clearfield), and Jay Condit (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) have anchored the staff that ranks 16th in the country with a team earned run average of 2.95.
Chad Zurat (Clearfield, PA/Clearfield), Jory Okerlund (Smethport, PA/Smethport), and Matt Parnes (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) have been dominate in the pen with a combined 56.2 innings pitched and 59 strikeouts.
The Lions offensive attack is led by four upperclassmen. Ryan Geibel (East Butler, PA/Butler), Matt Bittner (Lancaster, NY/St. Mary's), Ryan Kragnes (Bethel Park, PA/Bethel Park), and Evan Bukowski (Washington, PA/Trinity) are all hitting above .300. Together, Geibel and Bittner have 30 doubles, seven triples, seven home runs, and have driven in 84 runs. From the leadoff spot, Kragnes has been excellent with an on base percentage of .506 and is a perfect 29-for-29 in stolen bases.
Behrend will be looking for their fifth AMCC championship, beginning on May 10th at La Roche.
