The 2019 AMCC baseball championship tournament kicks off this weekend with first round games to take place on Saturday, May 4 and Sunday, May 5 (if needed). #6 Pitt-Greensburg will travel to #3 Penn St. Altoona, while #4 Mount Aloysius College will host #5 Alfred State College in first round action. La Roche University won the regular season title and hosting rights for the sixth consecutive year, as the Redhawks will host the championship round on May 9-11 in Pittsburgh, PA. #1 La Roche and #2 Penn St. Behrend will each receive first round byes.
Top-seeded La Roche (24-11, 16-2 AMCC) is looking for their sixth straight, and seventh overall, conference tournament championship. The Redhawks are led offensively by senior catcher Joe Professori who leads both the team and and the conference with a .399 batting average. Professori also ranks second in the league with 43 RBI and is tied for first with nine home runs. Senior outfielder Jonathan Spina ranks fifth in the AMCC with a .384 batting average while his 15 stolen bases are fourth-best in the league. Junior pitcher Trey Thomas' 1.79 ERA is second in the AMCC while sophomore Travis Holman's 58 strikeouts leads all AMCC pitchers.
#2 Penn St. Behrend (23-12, 12-6 AMCC) is looking for their first conference title since the 2013 season. Senior 2B Scott Sada leads the Lions offensively with a .373 batting average and is tops in the conference with 21 stolen bases. Freshman infielder Joshua Wagner leads both the Lions and the AMCC with 46 RBI. On the mound, freshman Thomas Zbezinski ranks first in the conference with seven wins while also ranking fourth with a 2.86 ERA and 47 strikeouts. Senior Phil Myers has six wins on the season, while ranking third in the conference with a 2.63 ERA.
Coming in as the #3 seed is Penn St. Altoona (24-14, 12-6 AMCC). Leading the Altoona offense are juniors Hunter Breon and Chase Clouser. Breon finished the regular season with a .354 batting average and 16 stolen bases, while Clouser ranks fifth in the conference with 39 RBI and six home runs. Junior Zane Leister leads the Lion pitchers with four wins and a 3.29 ERA.
Mount Aloysius (25-13, 12-6 AMCC) enters the tournament as the #4 seed. Senior INF Matthew McCourt is tied for tops in the conference with nine home runs, while ranking third with a .393 batting average and fourth with 40 RBI. Junior INF Sam Keibler's 42 RBI are third-best in the league, while his seven home runs are tied for third. Junior Michael McCourt leads the Mountie pitching staff with six wins, a 2.91 ERA and 43 strikeouts on the season.
The Alfred State Pioneers make their first appearance in the AMCC tournament as the #5 seed. Junior C Colin Johnson leads the Pioneer offense, and ranks fourth in the AMCC, with a .393 batting average, while teammate Danny Doran is tied for second in the league with seven home runs. Senior Garrett Mack leads all AMCC pitchers with a staggering 1.61 ERA in 56 innings pitched. Mack also has five wins on the year and 51 strikeouts.
Rounding out the field is sixth seed Pitt-Greensburg. Offensively, the Bobcats are led by sophomore OF Ben Green with a .350 batting average and five home runs. Sophomore Andy Prentice leads his team on the mound with four wins and a 3.25 ERA.
First round games open up on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. with #6 Pitt-Greensburg traveling to #3 Penn St. Altoona and #4 Mount Aloysius hosting #5 Alfred State. Click here for the complete tournament schedule.