Behrend Baseball Takes Two of Three on Opening Weekend; Bredel Reaches 100 Career K's
The Penn State Behrend baseball team opened the 2026 season with three games over the weekend, defeating Albion 14-3 and Hiram 6-5 on Saturday but falling to Heidelberg 3-2 on Sunday.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
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0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 14 | 11 | 2 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 0 |
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1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 6 | 10 | 3 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 3 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio – The Penn State Behrend baseball team opened the 2026 season with three games over the weekend, defeating Albion 14-3 and Hiram 6-5 on Saturday but falling to Heidelberg 3-2 on Sunday.
Game One:
Scores: Penn State Behrend 14, Albion 3
Records: Penn State Behrend (1-0), Albion (0-2)
Key Moments:
* Junior pitcher Andrew Bredel collected the win on the mound and also reached 100 career strikeouts
* Bredel threw six innings, allowing three hits, walking three and striking out 11
* Bredel gave way to Will McMahon for two effective innings in his first collegiate appearance with four K's
* Adam Cooper had a team-best three hits, all extra base, including two doubles and a home run for five RBIs
* Thomas Nicely smacked a pair of doubles for five RBIs
* After Tyler Burick drove in Dylan Barnes for the first run of the season, Copper rocketed a two-run homer to puts the lead to 3-0 in the second inning
* Albion scored two runs in the top of the third off errors but Behrend responded with two runs to make it 5-2
* The Lions scored three more runs in the fourth, five in the fifth and one in the eighth
Game Two:
Scores: Penn State Behrend 6, Hiram 5
Records: Penn State Behrend (2-0), Hiram (0-3)
Key Moments:
* Behrend took a 6-1 lead before Hiram rattled off four runs in the sixth to get within one
* Silvio Ionadi, Nicely and Spencer Dietz each recorded two hits
* In the second inning, Ionadi smacked a three-run home run to give the Lions a 4-1 lead
* Behrend tallied its final runs in the fourth inning
* Burick's double scored Ionadi, while Nicely's single sent home Burick for the eventual game-winning run
* Ethan Tinker got the start and struck out four, before Jake Manendo gave relief followed by Chase Caricato earning the save in the final two innings
* Caricato allowed one hit and fanned four
Game Three:
Scores: Heidelberg 3, Penn State Behrend 2
Records: Penn State Behrend (2-1), Heidelberg (5-1)
Key Moments:
* Starting pitcher Logan Walpole hit the walk-off double that scored Grant Bomer to help Heidelberg earn its fifth win of the season
* Lions grabbed the early 2-0 lead in the fifth
* Burick tripled to start the frame and scored off Turner's single through the left side
* Facing two outs, Turner scored on Nicely's single to center field
* The Student Princes scored two runs on two hits in the bottom of the sixth to knot the game at 2-all
* Neither team would score again until the ninth
* With one out showing, Bomer reached on a throwing error and Walpole doubled to the right-field line to give Heidelberg the one-run decision
* Colin Bolla struck out 10 in the first 5.2 innings of the game, allowing two earned runs and walking six
* Jack Baumgartel finished the game and registered the loss off one hit and run
Next Up:
* Behrend returns to action on Sunday against Susquehanna in Fort Pierce, Florida.