Behrend and Altoona Advance to Semi-Finals in Day One Action

Game One: Penn State Altoona 19, Frostburg State 3

Penn State Altoona quickly jumped to a 7-0 after two innings of play in the first game of the day.  In the first the Lions scored two runs on three hits and an error.  R.J. Barnard started the rally off with a double to center and eventually score on a Grady Luzier single.  The Lions added another run when John Schall singled to drive in Luzier.  Frostburg tried to cut into the Altoona lead getting a RBI single from Pat Sapp to cut the deficit to six. However, Penn State Altoona scored five in the second, one in the third, three in the fifth, and four in the sixth and eighth innings. 

Barnard went 4-for-5 on the day with four runs scored.  Luzier added three hits in his seven at bats while driving in four runners.  Jim Byers led the Lions with four hits, three runs scored, and five RBI.

Game Two: Penn State Behrend 16, Pitt-Greensburg 2

Pitt-Greensburg jumped ahead early when Mike Battochi's infield single scored Matt Gouveia to put the Bobcats ahead 1-0 after a half inning of play.  The Behrend Lions quickly evened the game when Ed Kessler doubled in Jon Gray and the game headed to the second inning tied 1-1.  Behrend got the go-ahead run in the second when Ryan Geibel's double scored Ryan Liddle for a 2-1 lead. 

Neither team scored in the third but the blue and white blew the game open in the fourth with a 6-run inning.  Behrend had four hits, three walks, and Geoff Lang stole home as the home squad made it a 8-1 advantage after four innings.  Behrend starter Andrew Chrobak blanked the visiting Bobcats again in the top of the fifth and then saw his teammates post eight more runs in the bottom of the inning.  Kessler homered twice in the fifth and Lang added a homer of his own as Behrend went up 16-1. 

Pitt-Greensburg would score one run in the seventh to make it 16-2 which would be the final score.  Chrobak got the win pitching five innings, striking out four, and yielding just three hits.

Game Three: Frostburg State 7, Pitt-Greensburg 2

Pitt-Greensburg again jumped ahead in the top of the first inning, when Shane Molyneaux singled in Matt Gouveia for a 1-0 lead.  Frostburg evened the game in the third inning when Andrew Derr led off with a single and was followed by Patt Sapp's single.  Derr advanced to third on a sacrifice and scored on a groundout to even the game at 1-1.  Pitt-Greensburg again took the lead in the sixth inning when Craig Huhn led off with a double and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt.  Huhn scored when Matt Diehl singled to put his team up 2-1.  Frostburg came back strong in the seventh inning getting four runs as Joe Garrity smashed a 2-run double and later in the inning Mike Jester had a 2-RBI double of his own to help Frostburg take a 5-2 lead.  Frostburg pushed two more runs across the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning to make it a 7-2 advantage.  That was plenty of support for Frostburg starter Trevor Conner who pitched a complete game to get the win.  Conner gave up two runs, one of them earned, with four strikeouts to help his team advance to Saturday's play while Pitt-Greensburg was eliminated.