MEADVILLE, Pa. – Fueled by a lengthy 11-run first inning, the Allegheny baseball team cruised to a 17-5 win over visiting Penn State-Behrend in non-conference action at the Robertson Athletic Complex.

Twelve different Gators tallied at least one hit while 11 scored at least one run, as the Gators (13-14) won for the fourth time in five games, and improved to 10-2 over local rival Penn State-Behrend (14-11) dating back to the 2009 season.

Tyler Wagner paced Allegheny's 18-hit attack, going 2-for-4 with two doubles, three runs scored, and four RBIs.  Vincent Carone and Ethan Pawlak each went 2-for-5, Max Sessions 2-for-2, and Luke Chutko 2-for-4 with three runs batted in.

Joe Nagel, the first of seven Gator hurlers used on the afternoon, was credited with the win after allowing no runs on three hits with three strikeouts in four innings of work.

After Nagel stranded a pair of runners to end the top of the first, the Gator bats went to work in a big way in the home half of the opening inning.  The Gators sent 15 men to the plate in the inning and scored 11 runs on eight hits, three walks, and a hit batter.  Wagner racked a pair of RBI doubles in the inning, including a two-bagger with the bases loaded, while Tommy Cannon and Noah Shannon also added run-scoring doubles, and Pawlak a single and RBI triple.

In the second, the Lions tallied a pair of baserunners, but Nagel again escaped the trouble, and the Allegheny bats went back to work to add two more runs, as Bret Kelly opened the frame with a single, before Carone tripled and Flaherty doubled to up the advantage to 13-0.

Behrend would eventually get two runs back in the top of the fifth without the aid of a hit, taking advantage of two walks and a pair of hit batsmen, but the Gators countered with another lengthy bottom half of the inning.  Max Sessions led off with a single, before Wagner walked and Chutko was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Sessions would cross the plate when Keegan Phillips was hit by a pitch, before Kelly was plunked with the bases jammed to bring home Chutko and make the score 15-2.

The Gators closed out their scoring in the bottom of the seventh when Chutko, who doubled to open the inning, crossed the plate on an RBI ground out from Dan Bonnett.

In addition to Nagel's four inning of scoreless work, Nick Kempa threw two shutout innings out of the bullpen, while Evan Davis and Clay Coon each threw one clean inning.

Behrend, which was limited to eight hits, was led offensively by John Brittner, who went 2-for-3 and scored two runs.  Lion starter Noah Schneider, who worked into the fourth inning, was saddled with the loss.

While the two teams totaled 24 hits on the day, they also combined for 12 hit batters, the second most in a single game in NCAA Division III history.

The Behrend contest kicked off a busy weekend for the Gators, who now turn around to travel to North Coast Athletic Conference rival Wooster for a noon doubleheader Saturday, before closing out the weekend with a single, 9-inning affair against Hiram on Sunday at the Robertson Athletic Complex.