GAME ONE RECAP

MEADVILLE, Pa.- A six-run first inning was all the Gators needed, as the combined pitching tandem of sophomores Robert Julian and Justin Stacsak fought off a late Kenyon rally to upend the Lords, 9-4, in game three of the weekend's North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) series on Sunday afternoon at the Robertson Complex.

Junior Shea Beaumont had the Gators' biggest hit, launching a two-run home run in the first to cap the first inning offense, his second home run of the week after knocking his first collegiate her earlier in the week against Penn State-Behrend.  Beaumont's two-run shot closed the scoring on a busy first inning for the Gators, as the squad scattered six hits in the inning en route to the huge, first inning lead.

Julian hurled 5.2 innings of quality work, picking up his second win of the season while striking out a pair of batters.  Stascak entered in relief, firing 1.1 innings of hitless ball en route to earning his third save of the season.

In the first inning, sophomore Robert DiMaggio led off the contest with a single to center field, followed by a single to right by Gray that moved the sophomore to third.  Killian reached on a Kenyon error before Shick knocked a base hit that plated the Gators' two base runners, giving the home squad the early lead.  A sacrifice fly by senior Ben Murray, a single to center by freshman Tyler Wagner and Beaumont's rocket to right put Allegheny up. 6-0 by the end of the first inning.

Senior R.J. Baker singled to right field to score Murray, giving Allegheny a 7-0 lead as Julian made quick work of the Kenyon lineup, retiring 10 consecutive batters from the first to fourth inning.  Kenyon finally got on the board in the sixth inning, as Jake Dunn hit a two-run home run to left field before a wild infield play allowed Kenyon to score a pair of unearned runs, slicing the Gator lead to 7-4.

In the sixth, a pair of bases loaded walks gave the Gators two important insurance runs before Stascak retired the Lords in order in the seventh to clinch the win for Allegheny.

GAME TWO RECAP

MEADVILLE, Pa. – Five runs in the top of the 11^th inning on a pair of home runs denied Allegheny its third electric comeback of the weekend, as the Kenyon Lords extinguished the Gator magic with an 11-7, series-closing win on Sunday afternoon.

The Gators finished the series taking three out of the four games against the visiting Lords, clinching a home North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Crossover series next weekend against the eventual No. 3 seed in the West Division.  On Saturday, Allegheny picked up a pair of comeback, eight-inning wins to take the first two games of the series, and looked poised for a shot at the series sweep after a 9-4 win in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader. 

Kenyon jumped out to a 4-0 lead before a scorching double down the left field line by junior Joe Killian scored senior Zach Gray and sophomore Robert DiMaggio, who led the Gators in batting by going 3-for-6 with three runs driven in, putting a dent in the Kenyon lead.  Sophomore Shea Beaumont then launched what appeared to be a game-tying, two-run blast to right field, but on appeal was called out by the home plate umpire by failing to touch home, reverting the game back to a 4-3 Kenyon lead.  DiMaggio scalded a double to deep left center, scoring senior R.J. Baker and tying the game in the sixth.

DiMaggio struck again in the eighth inning, responding to a two run seventh by Kenyon by lifting a single over the head of the second baseman and into right field, scoring junior Matt Sardini and sophomore Andrew Dawson to tie the game again at 6-6. 

The Allegheny bullpen took over at that point, as junior Hayden Smith came in to relieve sophomore Patrick Orr in the seventh inning, throwing two innings of three-hit shutout ball with a pair of strikeouts.  Sophomore Justin Stascak hurled a scoreless 10^th inning, but a grand slam by Kenyon's Kyle Hardacker in the 11^th inning, followed by a solo blast by Phillip Nam, gave the Lords an 11-6 lead heading into the bottom of the frame.

The Gators attempted to piece together a rally, as a RBI single by Killian scored Gray to make the game 11-7, but the five-run 11^th was simply too much to overcome as Kenyon was able to salvage one win out of the four-game series.

Killian finished the game batting 2-for-6, tying DiMaggio with a team-high three runs driven in, as Gray finished the game batting 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored.  Beaumont notched the squad's other RBI, scoring senior Ben Murray on his long ball in the sixth.