Lions Sweep Hilbert in AMCC Opener

HAMBURG, NY – The Penn State Behrend baseball team swept Hilbert in convincing fashion on Wednesday afternoon in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) action.  The Lions took game one 10-1 before defeating the Hawks 10-0 in game two.

Behrend had 25 hits and scored 20 runs in the doubleheader for their best two-game performance of the season.

In game one, Ryan Jacobs (Port Vue, PA/South Allegheny) set the tone for the Lions (11-6) on the mound.  Jacobs threw six shutout innings, scattering two hits while striking out six to earn his third victory of the season.

Behrend jumped out early with two runs in the first off a Ryan Geibel (East Butler, PA/Butler) two-run double.  After going scoreless in the second and third, the Lions tallied runs in four consecutive innings.  Matt Bittner (Lancaster, NY/St. Mary's) hit a two-run homer in the fifth to go along with a RBI double by Tommy Kocur (Erie, PA/McDowell).  In the following inning, Evan Bukowski (Washington, PA/Trinity) hit a sacrifice fly to plate Jordan Weinzierl (St. Marys, PA/St. Marys).  Just like in the first inning, Geibel doubled to score Ryan Kragnes (Bethel Park, PA/Bethel Park), giving Behrend an 8-0 lead. 

The Lions put up two more in the seventh before giving up one in the bottom half to secure the 10-1 victory.  Geibel led the offensive attack with three hits and three RBIs in the opener.  Bukowski, Weinzierl, Bittner, and Vinny Rice (Harmony, PA/Seneca Valley) each contributed two hits.

In the second game, Jay Condit (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) followed up Jacobs' performance with a gem of his own. Condit threw five scoreless innings to earn his second win of the season.

After a two-run second inning, once again Behrend scored in four straight innings to end the game.  Rice and Weinzierl both hit RBI singles in the fourth.  Now leading by six through five innings, Bittner doubled home Bukowski and Kragnes to push the lead to 8-0.  Bittner would later score in the inning to push the advantage to nine.  The Lions tacked on another run in the seventh with a Kyle Peterson (State College, PA/State College) sacrifice fly.

Chad Zurat (Clearfield, PA/Clearfield) and Matt Parnes (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) shut the door on Hilbert with an inning of scoreless relief apiece. Zurat struck out all three batters that he faced with Parnes getting three quick outs to give Behrend a 2-0 start in AMCC play.

Bittner and Weinzierl mimicked their game one totals with another two hits apiece.  James Verona (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional) and Dante DeSantis (DuBois, PA/DuBois Central Catholic) chipped in two hits as well.  Kragnes and Verona combined for five steals in the nightcap. 

The Lions will be back in action on Saturday.  Behrend will travel to Mt. Aloysius for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.