ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend baseball team took two from Alfred State at home to take sole possession of the top spot in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC).
Final Scores:
Penn State Behrend 13, Alfred State 3
Penn State Behrend 9, Alfred State 3
Records: Penn State Behrend 21-10 (12-2 AMCC), Alfred State 16-19 (10-4 AMCC)
Game One Key Moments:
* The Lions manufactured a five-run fourth inning to break it open to take a 12-1 lead and help lock down the victory
* The bottom of the second saw Behrend plate three to open the scoring
* The Lions continued in the third inning with a lead-off walk from Zac Bogats (Corapolis, PA/Moon), scoring on the next at-bat via double from Zack Bowen (Pittsburgh, PA/Serra Catholic)
* Bowen advanced to third on a Isaac Stouffer (Punxsutawney, PA/Punxsutawney) single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Juston Jones (Moon Township, PA/Moon)
* Stouffer scored on a single from Mac Ciocco (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) to complete a three-run third
* Behrend had five players drive in a run in the bottom of the fifth
* Starting pitcher Derrick Shields (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) went all seven innings, allowing just two earned runs while striking out eight
Game Two Key Moments:
* Bowen helped the Lions get on the board in the first inning, scoring Bogats with an RBI-triple
* Bowen would again score via sac fly, this time courtesy of Ciocco
* Bogats added two more in the second with a two-run double to increase the Behrend lead to 4-0
* The Lion offense put up four more in the third with Ciocco starting the rally with a one-out triple down the right field line
* John Berger (Wexford, PA/Pine-Richland) singled to right, scoring Ciocco and advanced to second on a CJ Weller (Sewickley, PA/North Allegheny) base hit
* Hunter Jamison (Allison Park, PA/Shaler Area) jumped on a fastball with two on base and sent one deep over the right field fence, turning on one for a three-run shot to pad the advantage to 8-0
* In the fifth inning, Thomas Zbezinski (Gibsonia, PA/Pine-Richland) struck out his eight batter of the game, registering his 200th career punchout
* Zbezinski went five innings of one-run baseball, allowing just three hits
Noteworthy:
* Jones and Bowen combined to toss the final four frames of the night cap, striking out four each
* Ciocco had a team-high four hits in the twin bill, driving in three runs
* Berger collected three RBIs in the two games, going 3-for-7 at the plate with two runs and two stolen bases
Up Next:
* The Lions will host Thiel for a nine-inning contest in non-conference action at home on Thursday, April 28 at 4 p.m.
