TUCSON, Ariz. - On the final day of its spring break trip to the Tucson Invitational Games, the Allegheny baseball team split a doubleheader with Middlebury College.  The Gators topped the Panthers 12-6 in the opener, before falling 11-10 in extra innings in the nightcap.

The Gators went 7-3 during their 10-game sojourn to the southwest, and will return to Meadville with a 9-5 overall mark.

GAME ONE - Allegheny 12, Middlebury 6
Allegheny used a familiar formula in their game one win over the Panthers, as they jumped out to a big early lead and never looked back.

Jacob Shick led the Gators' 16-hit attack, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and four RBIs, and was one of five teammates to post a multi-hit game, as Ethan Pawlak went 3-for-3, and Tyler Wagner, Vincent Carone, and Patrick Orr each finished with two hits apiece.  The offense was more than enough for starting pitcher Robert Julian, as the senior went the distance in the 7-inning affair and allowed just two earned runs while scattering 12 hits with no walks.

After a scoreless first innings, the Gator erupted in the top of the second, sending 13 men to the plate en-route to eight runs on eight hits.  Robert DiMaggio, Wagner, and Pawlak hit consecutive singles to start the frame, before Orr unloaded the bases with a triple to right-center field.  Carone and Wagner went on to add RBI doubles in the frame, while Pawlak added a run-scoring single in his second at bat of the inning.

The Gators added on with a pair of runs in the top of the third, using doubles from Carone and Shick and a sacrifice fly from Cullen Flaherty to make it 10-0.  

The 10 runs was more than plenty for Julian, as the veteran right hander faced just four batters over the minimum through the first five innings, over which he induced seven ground ball outs.   
Middlebury came to life in the bottom of the sixth, tallying four hits, but the Gator defense helped Julian minimize the damage, yielding just one run.  The defensive highlight of the frame came from Andrew Dawson, who gunned down a runner from right field who was trying to advance from first to third on a single.

Allegheny closed out its scoring for the game in the top of the seventh.  With one out, Andrew Vincent was hit by a pitch, before Chase Davis laced a single to left.  Shick would then empty the bases with his fourth hit of the game, a two-out double to left field, to make it 12-1.

The Panthers looked to mount a comeback in the bottom of the seventh, taking advantage of a Gator miscue to score five runs, with four of the unearned variety.  Middlebury's Johnny Read belted a three-run home run that made the score 12-6, but Julian would close out the complete game victory by inducing his eighth ground ball out to end the game in a tidy two hours and one minute..

Allegheny out-hit Middlebury 16-12 in the win, with eight different Gators tallying at least one hit.

Middlebury saw three players record multi-hit games in the loss, as Justin Han, Sam Graf, and Grant Elgarten all going 2-for-4.  Colby Morris started on the mound and took the loss, allowing 10 runs on 14 hits in five innings of work.


GAME TWO - Middlebury 11, Allegheny 10 (8 innings)
In a back-and-forth nightcap, the Gators climbed back from a 5-run deficit to take the lead in the seventh inning, before Middlebury scored once in the seventh and four times in the eighth to earn the victory.

The Panthers jumped ahead early, scoring their first run after loading the bases with none down in the top of the first.  Gator reliever Jarod Deagan would minimize the damage, as he came on in relief to strand the bases loaded and keep the deficit at one.  Middlebury would quickly add on, however, in the top of the second, sending 13 men to the plate and scoring four runs on 
three hits, two walks, and a hit batter.

The Gators began to chip away with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third.  Flaherty led off with a single, but was erased on a fielder's choice ground ball from Austin Bristol.  Shick reached on an error, before DiMaggio doubled home Bristol to make it 5-1.  Shick would then cross the plate on a wild pitch to cut the gap to 5-2.

Allegheny reliever Nate Pastorek faced the minimum over the next three innings, before the Gators tied it in the bottom of the fifth.  Flaherty singled, Bristol reached on an error, and Shick walked to load the bases.  DiMaggio followed with a sacrifice fly to plate Flaherty, before pinch hitter Shea Beaumont singled home Bristol, and Pawlak brought home Shick with a one-base hit to tie the game at 5-all.

Middlebury regained the lead with a run in the top of the sixth, but the Gators would quickly respond to take their first lead of the game in the home half of the inning. Orr started things with a triple to the fence in left center field, and was promptly brought home on a game-tying single from Flaherty.  Shick and DiMaggio then walked to load the bases, before pinch hitter Dan Bonnett drew another free pass to put the Gators on top 7-6.

As was the case throughout the game, the tide would again swing the way of the Panthers.  Middlebury's Brendon Donohue led off with a single, but the Gators would promptly record the next two outs.  The Panthers' Sebastian Sanchez would then lace a two-out double to bring home Donohue and tie the game at 7.  Carone laced a single in the bottom of the seventh but was stranded, sending the game into extras.

Middlebury put together its biggest inning of the day in the top of the eighth, batting around and plating four runs on five hits to take an 11-7 lead into the bottom of the eighth.

Facing their last at bats, the Gators refused to go away.  Bristol led off the bottom of the eighth with a single, and with one out, DiMaggio walked.  Two batters later, Pawlak cracked a three-run home run over the fence in right center field to pull the Gators to within one, 11-10.  In his first at bat of the day, rookie Francis Faiello followed with a triple off the centerfield fence to put the tying run on third base, but Middlebury escaped the threat and avoided another dramatic Allegheny comeback by inducing a game-ending popup.

 Allegheny tallied 12 hits in the loss, with Flaherty going 3-for-4, and Pawlak 2-for-5 with a team-best four RBIs.  DiMaggio reached base three times, while Shick scored a team-leading three runs.  

Joe Nagel took the loss for Allegheny, allowing four runs in an inning and a third.  Pastorek turned in the team's best pitching effort of the game, as he worked 4 2/3 innings and allowed two runs on five hits with a pair of strikeouts.

Middlebury reliever Dylan Takamori was credited with the win, throwing 2 1/3 innings.  Jake Stalcup recorded the game's final out to earn the save.  Offensively, Ryan Rizzo tallied a team-best four hits, while Sam Graf went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

After the split, Allegheny closed its Arizona trip with a 7-3 mark.  Over the 10 games, the Gator offense turned in a prolific performance, batting .417 as a team and averaging 15.4 hits and 12.8 runs per contest.  The squad totaled 42 extra base hits, with a .572 slugging percentage and .496 on-base percentage.

The Gators are scheduled to return to action on Tuesday, March 28, with a single, non-conference tilt at Pitt-Greensburg beginning at 4 p.m.