TUCSON, Ariz. - The Gators went 1-1 on their second day of the Tucson Invitational Tournament, earning a 12-11 comeback win over Luther in the opener, before falling 9-8 to Hamline in game two.

GAME ONE - Allegheny 12, Luther 11
For the third consecutive game, the Gators rode a big ninth inning rally to a comeback victory, topping the Luther Norse 12-11.

Trailing 11-9 heading into the ninth, Allegheny scored four runs, capped off with a two-run pinch hit single to right field from Andrew Dawson to take a 12-10 lead.  Luther tried to rally in the ninth, but junior Travis Neamon closed the door to earn his first collegiate save.

The Gator racked 19 hits in the win, with six players tallying multi-hit games.  Cullen Flaherty, Ethan Pawlak, Jacob Shick, and Robert DiMaggio all had three hits, with Flaherty knocking in a team-leading three RBIs, and Pawlak smacking two doubles and a triple. 

Freshman Sean Kealey earned his first collegiate victory, throwing three innings of relief and allowing one earned run on five hits, striking out five.  

Allegheny jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a manufactured run in the top of the third, as Vincent Carone opened the frame with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Pawlak, and scored on a Flaherty base hit to right.

Luther countered with three runs in the bottom of the frame, before the Gators countered with a big top of the fourth.  DiMaggio and Tyler Wagner laced back-to-back singles, before Dan Bonnett was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Pat Orr followed with a sacrifice fly to center field, before Pawlak cracked a triple to the fence in straightaway center to score two. Flaherty followed with his second RBI single in as many frames to give Allegheny a 5-3 lead.

The two teams would each score one run in each of the next three half innings, with Orr posting an RBI single in the fifth and DiMaggio a run-scoring double in the sixth, but Luther then took advantage of a trio of Gator errors to plate six runs in the bottom of the sixth, five of which were unearned, to jump out to an 11-8 lead.

Allegheny began the comeback with a two-out rally in the top of the seventh.  Pawlak smacked his third extra-base hit of the game with a double, before Flaherty produced his third RBI single of the afternoon to cut the deficit to 11-9. 

The Gators looked poised to add more runs in the eighth, as they loaded the bases with one out, but Luther reliever Joey Cardamon escaped the trouble with a strikeout and pop-up.

Kealey set the Norse down in order in the bottom of the eighth, setting the stage for the Gators' third straight ninth inning victory.  Pawlak opened the frame by reaching on a walk, but two batters later was retired on a fielder's choice for the second out of the inning.  Shick was hit by a pitch, putting runners at first and second, before DiMaggio came through with a single to right to bring home Austin Bristol.  Facing an 0-2 count, Wagner then followed with another single to left, bringing home Shick to tie the game at 11, and sending DiMaggio to third.  Noah Shannon the worked a full-count walk, before the pinch hitter Dawson stroked a single to center field to bring home DiMaggio and Wagner and put the Gators on top 13-11.

In the bottom of the ninth, Luther used a single, wild pitch, sac bunt, and RBI ground out to make it a one-run game, but Neamon induced a game-ending groundout to short to cap off the comeback win.

Eleven differernt players reached the hit column for the Gators in the win, while seven different men scored at least one run, with Pawlak and Shick each crossing the plate three times.  Robert Julian started on the mound for Allegheny and worked the first five innings, taking the no-decision after allowing five runs with a pair of strikeouts.

Luther was led offensively by Joey Sullivan, who finished 4-for-5 with three RBIs, while John Opdahl had three hits and scored three runs.

GAME TWO: Hamline 9, Allegheny 8
The Gators were unable to put together a fourth straight ninth inning rally, as they were edged in a one-run affair by the Pipers.

The Gator offense continued to produce, totaling 13 hits, but Hamline used three runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a lead it would not relinquish.

Dawson's bat remained hot, as he went 3-for-3, while Bristol, DiMaggio, and Brandon Pouch each had two hits.  

Nate Pastorek started and worked the first 2.2 innings and took the no-decision.  Cy Perry, the Gators' third pitcher on the day, was saddled with the loss, allowing one run in two-thirds of an inning. 

Allegheny started strong, with each of its first four batters reaching safely to stake the Gators out to an early 2-0 lead.  Flaherty and Bristol each singled and scored in the frame, while DiMaggio had an RBI single.

The Pipers answered back with a long bottom of the first, sending seven men to the plate en-route to a pair of runs to tie the game.

The Gator bats went back to work in the top of the third.  Shick and DiMaggio smacked back-to-back doubles, before Wagner singled.  DiMaggio scampered home with Allegheny's second run of the inning after an errant pick off throw sailed into right field, before Carone singled to bring home Wagner and put the Gators ahead 5-2.

As was the case in the first inning, the Pipers bounced back to tie it again, scoring three more times, with a pair of unearned runs, to tie it back up at 5-all.

Dawson stroked his second hit of the game to lead off the fourth, and was promptly drive home by a triple to the fence in right-center from Bristol to put the Gators ahead 6-5, but Hamline came right back in the bottom half with a single tally to tie it right back up.
 
In the sixth, Allegheny took advantage of a pair of errors to push the lead up to 7-6 on a Wagner sacrifice fly, but Hamline offered another counter punch, this time sending 11 men to the plate in the bottom of the sixth to score three runs on four hits and up the lead to 9-7.  

The Gators looked to mount the comeback trail yet again, plating one run in the seventh.  Pouch led off with a single, before Carone was hit by a pitch.  Both runners moved up 90 feet on a sacrifice bunt from Dawson, before a Flaherty fly ball brought home Pouch to make it 9-8.

Gator reliever Clay Coon threw scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth, allowing just one hit, but for the first time during the spring break trip, the Gators were unable to muster any late game magic, as Hamline closer Zach Smith allowed just one baserunner over the final two innings to shut the door and preserve the Pipers' one-run win.

The top of the order proved to be the difference-maker for Hamline, as their one-through-five hitters produced 11 of the Pipers' 14 hits.  Nolan Schoonveld went 3-for-5, while Colin Ostad and  Mitch Benson each had two hits and two RBIs.  Hamline's Zach Munsterman was credited with the win, after throwing four innings of relief and allowing two earned runs on five hits.


The Gators will return to action on Tuesday, as they face off against Wisconsin-Superior at the Kino Athletic Complex beginning at 3 p.m. EST. 

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