MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny College baseball team saw its season come to an end this afternoon as the loud bats of DePauw University lifted the Tigers to 16-5 victory over the Gators in the deciding game of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Crossover series.
Allegheny (21-14, 11-6 NCAC) tallied five runs on 10 hits, but was undone by DePauw (23-17, 10-9 NCAC) crooked numbers in the first, fourth, and seventh innings. Out of the Tigers' 15 hits, six went for extra bases.
Three of DePauw's runs came in the top of the first frame as Connor and Collin Einertson respectively bashed a two-run double and a RBI single off Gators starting pitcher
Robert Julian.
The hosts responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half.
Cullen Flaherty, who finished the afternoon with a 3-for-3 performance, led the inning off with a single the other way, and
Ethan Pawlak was plunked by Tigers starter Andrew Quinn.
Robert DiMaggio moved the runners with a sacrifice bunt, setting the table for
Joe Killian, who ripped a double off the wall to cut the deficit to 3-2.
DePauw scored one in the second with two outs as Jack Thompson roped a two-bagger over the head of Pawlak in centerfield to score Rick Okazaki.
Allegheny again chipped away at the lead in the bottom of the third, trimming the gap to 4-3. Flaherty smacked a single to begin the frame and advanced to second on a passed ball. Pawlak followed that up with his own base hit, plating the sophomore outfielder.
After DiMaggio popped out on a 3-2 pitch, the Tigers coaching staff made a switch, giving the ball to Mike Hammel in an attempt to hold off the charging Gators. Hammel did just that to close the inning, needing just four pitches to retire Killian and
Tyler Wagner to maintain the visitors' advantage.
DePauw used that momentum and turned it into four runs in the top of the fourth. With two on and one out, Allegheny made a change by bringing in
Corey Keenan in place of Julian. A long battle between Keenan and Reid Pittard ended in favor of the latter as he worked a six-pitch walk to load the bases. Thompson then lined a shot into center, landing past a diving Pawlak to clear the bases on a three-run triple. Lucas Italiano followed that up with a sacrifice fly, adding to the Tigers' 8-3 lead.
Keenan calmed down and tossed a pair of scoreless frames in the fifth and sixth, but DePauw plated seven in the top of the seventh. The Tigers made it a 15-3 game courtesy of two homeruns, two singles, two walks, and a single off three Gator hurlers.
Pawlak and DiMaggio each tallied a RBI in the bottom half on a double and groundout, respectively, to cut the gap to 15-5. A bases-loaded walk in the top of the ninth for the visitors set the final score at 16-5.
Hammel picked up the win, firing 5.2 innings of two-run ball in relief. The junior right-hander gave up five hits and a walk while striking out six.
Flaherty, Pawlak, and
Patrick Orr each tallied multiple hits for Allegheny in the loss.
Hayden Smith threw 1.1 hitless innings with two strikeouts and a walk in his final collegiate game.
Killian ends his career as one of the most decorated players in the program's longstanding history. He tied his single-season record with 16 doubles, finishing his four years with a school-standard 52 two-baggers. The Springdale, Pa. native also tripled his career homerun total entering 2016 with six round-trippers. His 211 hits are the second most in program history and his 564 at-bats are good enough for third in the school record books.
Allegheny closes the 2016 season with a 21-14 overall record – its fourth consecutive 20-win campaign – and will lose just two seniors (Killian, Smith) to graduation.
