TUCSON, Ariz. - The Allegheny baseball team again used a punishing offensive attack to earn a pair of wins at the Tucson Invitational Games, defeating Wisconsin-Superior and Grinnell by identical 13-6 scores.

In the opener against Wisconsin-Superior, freshman Sean Kealey threw five-plus innings in his first collegiate start on the mound, while the Gator offense pounded out 16 hits.  In game two against Grinnell, the Gators came back from an early 5-3 deficit to score 10 runs over the final six innings, as seven players produced multi-hit games, led by Andrew Dawson's 5-for-5 performance at the plate.

GAME ONE - Allegheny 13, Wisconsin-Superior 6
Allegheny struck for five runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back, as Kealey's strong performance on mound was complemented by another balanced offensive attack.

Ethan Pawlak, Jacob Shick, and Vincent Carone each had three hits in the win, while eight different Gators produced at least one base knock.  In his first collegiate start, Kealey was solid, throwing 5 1/3 innings and allowing two runs on seven hits, while striking out three to earn his second win in three days.  Cy Perry closed out the game with 3 2/3 innings of relief to earn the save, allowing two earned runs on four hits with two K's.

After the first two batters went down in order in the bottom of the first, the Gator bats awoke.  Shick smacked a double, before Robert DiMaggio was hit by a pitch, and Tyler Wagner walked, loading the bases.  Pawlak then came through with a single to center, scoring Shick and DiMaggio.  After Chase Davis was hit by a pitch to again load the bags, Carone singled home a pair of runs, and was followed by Brandon Pouch, who brought home one run with another single to give the Gators a quick 5-0 lead.

Allegheny manufactured a run to add on in the bottom of the second.  With one down, Shick walked, and promptly stole second base.  After moving to third on an ground ball to the right side, he then scored on a wild pitch to give the Gators a six-run cushion.

The early run support was more than enough for Kealey, as the freshman southpaw retired the first eight batters he faced, striking out three.  He ran into his first spot of trouble with two outs in the third, as the Yellow Jackets produced a double and single to put men at first and third.  The jam was quickly negated, however, as Kealey negated a potential Superior double steal with a pickoff to end the frame.

Superior finally broke through in the top of the fourth, producing one run on three hits, before Kealey again escaped imminent trouble by inducing an inning-ending double play.

Allegheny answered the Yellow Jackets' first run of the day with a single tally of its own in the bottom of the fourth, as Shick led off with a double, advanced to third on a DiMaggio single, and scored on a Wagner sacrifice fly to push the lead to 7-1.

The Gators added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth, sending eight men to the plate and racking four hits.  Carone, Flaherty, and Austin Bristol each singled in the frame, while DiMaggio laced an RBI double to deep left field, and Shick tallied a sacrifice fly.  

Superior added a single tally in the sixth and two in the seventh, but the Gators scored twice in the seventh, as Shick smacked an RBI single before crossing the plate on a wild pitch.  Allegheny then closed out its scoring in the bottom of the eighth with another RBI single from Carone.

In addition to the trio of Gators to finish with three hits, Flaherty and DiMaggio each tallied multi-hit games with two hits apiece.  Carone finished with a career-high three RBIs, while Shick scored four runs.

Wisconsin-Superior's Eliot Danhoff started and took the loss, working three innings and allowing six runs on five hits, with five walks and two strikeouts. Alex Osness paced the Yellow Jackets' offense with three hits, while Chad Patko had a pair of hits, and Cory Albertson four RBIs.

GAME TWO - Allegheny 13, Grinnell 6
The Gator offense continued its prolific ways in the nightcap against Grinnell, pounding out 20 hits and eclipsing double-digits in the runs column for the fourth straight game, and ninth time in 12 contests on the season.

After starter Corey Keenan set down the Pioneers in order in the top of the first, the Gators promptly loaded the bases in the bottom half with singles from Flaherty, Shick, and DiMaggio.  Allegheny would be forced to settle for just one run, however, via Tyler Wagner's one-out sacrifice fly that plated Flaherty.

The Gators added on with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second. Carone led off with a walk, and was followed by Dawson's first hit of the afternoon.  Flaherty then stroked an RBI single to plate Carone, before Shick's double to the fence in left center brought home Dawson and made the score 3-0.

Grinnell stormed back, doing the bulk of its damage in the top of the third.  Nine Pioneers came to the plate in the frame, as they used five hits, including a pair of doubles, to plate five runs and take a 5-3 lead.

The Gators responded to make it a one-run game in the bottom of the inning, as Dawson, who led off with a single, came around on Bristol's one-base hit to make it 5-4. Grinnell's Niko Takayesu made it 6-4 with a two-out home run in the top of the fifth, but from there, it was all Allegheny.  

Dawson opened the bottom of the sixth with his third hit of the afternoon, and after moving to second on a Flaherty bunt, scored on a single from Bristol. Shick was then hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second, before DiMaggio cracked a double to the fence in left center to clear the bases and put the Gators back on top 7-6.  

Allegheny added three more runs in the bottom of the seventh, with an RBI single from Dawson followed by a two-run Shick double making the score 10-6.   The Gators put up two more insurance tallies in their last at bats in the eighth, with Carone doubling home Wagner and Pawlak, who hit back-to-back singles to open the frame.

Aside from the third inning blip, Keenan was solid on the rubber, striking out six against just two walks in six innings.  Freshman Jarod Deagen worked two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit with a strikeout, before Travis Neamon closed out the win with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Eight different Gators found the hit column in the win over the Pioneers, including seven with multiple hits.  Dawson led the way with a career-best 5-for-5 performance, lifting his season batting average to .727 (16-for-22), while he also scored a team-high four runs.  Shick and Wagner each went 3-for-4, while Flaherty, Bristol, Pawlak, and DiMaggio each had two hits apiece.

Matt Hammond went 3-for-4 to pace Grinnell offensively, while Takayesu and Kory Czajkowski each had two hits.  Shane Comiskey took the loss on the mound, allowing six runs on five hits in two innings of work in relief of starter Sam Galanek.

The Gators will return to action on Saturday, Mar. 24, as they close out their Arizona spring break foray with a doubleheader against Middlebury beginning at 10 a.m. local/1 p.m. EST.

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