Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 BUTLER, Pa. – The Gators picked up their first North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) win of the season, 6-3, over the Hiram on Saturday, ultimately splitting a two-game set with the Terriers at Historic Pullman Park.  Hiram rebounded from the game one loss with a 8-5 decision in game two.

Senior Mike Pezzone finished the double-header batting 3-for-6, collecting a single, double and triple while driving in two RBI.  Sophomore Joe Killian, the reigning NCAC Newcomer of the Year, recorded a team-high three RBI while also collecting three hits.  Senior Kyle Davis, junior Ben Murray and freshman Jacob Shick also picked up hits for the Gators, as Murray and junior Adam Bronson drove in a run each for the Gators.

Junior Eric Weyant, sophomore Matt Sardini, senior Shane Regel and freshman Ian Frazier crossed the plate for Allegheny runs, as the squad finished 2-for-3 in stolen bases, led by Frazier and Shick, who each stole a base during the doubleheader.

Davis started game one for the Gators, pitching all 7.0 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and striking out six to earn his fourth win of the year.  Junior Steven Ramsdell suffered the game two loss, pitching 5.0 innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits while striking out six.

The two teams played to an even stalemate until the bottom of the third, as neither team placed a runner into scoring position in the first two frames.  Regel led off the third with a walk, pushed over to second with a bunt by Sardini.  A Hiram error on a pick-off attempt allowed Regel to score an unearned run, opening the scoring for the Gators.

Hiram threatened in the fourth with a lead-off double, but a pick-off from Davis eliminated the threat and Allegheny was able to escape the inning with the lead intact.  After Killian led off the  inning with a single, Murray was able to pick up the first RBI of the contest with a line shot single, driving in the sophomore to give the Gators a 2-0 lead.

Allegheny put away its first conference win of the 2014 campaign with a four-run fourth.  Sardini reached base after being hit by a pitch, joined by Weyant who earned first base after a walk.  The two runners scored after another Hiram error on a routine groundball by Davis.  Pezzone, facing a 3-0 count, took the fourth pitch of the at bat to deep left center field, earning a triple while scoring Davis.  Killian would cap the inning with a single to right, driving in Pezzone to make the Allegheny lead 6-0.

Hiram threatened in the sixth, scoring three runs, but Davis closed the door on a Terrier rally, leaving two runners stranded in the seventh inning to end game one.

The two squads experienced a reversal of fortunes in game two, as the Terriers picked up a third inning lead on the Gators, scoring two runs on one hit and one Allegheny error.  Hiram would tally two additional runs in the top of the fourth before the Gators got on the board.  After a double to left center by Pezzone led off the inning, Killian drove home the senior with a single to right.  Killian would later score on an RBI-groundout by Bronson. 

The Terriers scored one run in the sixth and three in the seventh, holding the Allegheny bats at bay in the latter stages of the game.  After their fifth inning runs, the Gators were retired in order in the sixth and seventh innings, salvaging a run in the eighth after Davis utilized a lead off double to score on a sacrifice fly by Killian.  Hiram would close the door in the ninth as the Gators left one runner stranded after a lead-off walk to Bronson.

Allegheny will look to sweep the final two-game slate of this weekend's NCAC series when Hiram arrives in Meadville for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.  The two squads will once again play a seven- and nine-inning game as Allegheny will take the field in the friendly confines of the Robertson Complex for the first time this season.