AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Allegheny College baseball team couldn't withstand a two-inning rally by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh as the Gators fell to the Titans, 7-3, this afternoon from the Lake Myrtle Baseball Complex.
Allegheny (2-3, 0-0 NCAC) held a 3-0 lead through seven innings but Wisconsin-Oshkosh (1-6, 0-0 WIAC) scored three in the eighth inning and four in the final frame to pull ahead.
Robert Julian made his first start of the season, providing the Gators with seven strong innings. Julian held the Titans scoreless through six frames before allowing two and being on the hook for a third in the seventh inning. The junior right-hander scattered eight hits and struck out five, allowing just one free pass on a hit-by-pitch.
Allegheny tallied seven hits off Wisconsin-Oshkosh pitching, led by
Dan Bonnett's two-hit effort.
Robert DiMaggio reached base on three occasions with a single and two walks.
A one-out single and two-out stolen base provided Julian with his first bit of adversity in the top of the first. He was able to get out of it, however, by getting Andy Brahier to swing and miss on strike three.
The Gators took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third. DiMaggio led off the frame with a walk and stole second on the next at-bat. After
Joe Killian flied out to left,
Tyler Wagner bashed a first-pitch fastball into right to score DiMaggio from second.
Julian allowed a lead-off double in the top half of the fourth, but settled down to generate a flyout and two punchouts to end the inning. In the sixth, the junior plunked Robbie Kleman with two outs, but promptly picked him off of first shortly after.
A lead-off single by
Patrick Orr in the bottom of the seventh sparked a two-run inning. Orr was sacrificed over to second by
Andrew Dawson, and Dawson was ruled safe after the throw pulled Noah Polcyn off the bag.
Brandon Pouch struck out in a pinch-hitting appearance for the first out, but fellow freshman
Austin Bristol roped a single to right to score Orr. Another Polcyn error allowed Dawson to score, but the threat ended there with a strikeout and foulout.
Polcyn made up for his rough bottom half by leading off the eighth inning with a double. Jack Paulson dented the scoreboard with a single that scored Polcyn, and Johnny Eagan followed that up with an RBI double to left.
Kyle O'Connell replaced Julian and generated two outs on a sacrifice and strikeout, but an infield single to short pushed the tying run across.
Wisconsin-Oshkosh began the ninth inning with two walks, and a bunt allowed the bases to load after
Cy Perry relieved O'Connell. Perry struck out Paulson to get the first out, but a wild pitch scored the winning run. Two singles added some insurance for the Titans as a four-run frame made it 7-3.
O'Connell was saddled with the loss after being charged with two of the four ninth-inning runs. Colan Treml picked up the win after striking out three over the final two frames.
Allegheny returns to the diamond tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. when it faces Kalamazoo in Winter Haven, Florida.
