MEADVILLE, Pa. – Visiting College of Wooster spoiled the Allegheny baseball team's 2017 Senior Day, claiming a total of three wins on a sun-splashed Sunday at the Robertson Athletic Complex.

After Wooster held off a wild Gator ninth inning rally to complete a 16-13 win in a game that was halted due to darkness 16 hours earlier, the seventh-ranked Scots used a ninth inning rally of their own to claim a 3-2 win in the opener of the regularly-scheduled doubleheader, before they jumped out to a big lead early on from which the Gators were unable to recover.
Following Sunday's action, Wooster's record moves to 16-4 overall and 6-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, while Allegheny's mark stands at 14-9/4-4 NCAC.

GAME ONE – WOOSTER 16, ALLEGHENY 13
In the nightcap, Wooster jumped out to a 5-0 lead after three innings, as the Scots received a pair of doubles in the second inning, and home runs from Dan Harwood and Jamie Lackner in the third.  

The Gators climbed back into it with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third. Dawson singled and Shick was hit by a pitch, before DiMaggio cleared the bases with a double to the left field corner to trim the gap to 5-2.

Wooster's bats would stay hot, plating three runs in the fourth, one in the fifth, and three more in the eighth, on Lackner's second homer of the day, to open up a 12-2 lead.  

Allegheny got one run back in the bottom of the eighth, as DiMaggio and pinch hitter Shane Fiorentini each singled, before DiMaggio would eventually cross the plate on a passed ball. 

The Fighting Scots' offense wasn't finished, as they batted around in the ninth inning and scored four more runs to open up a 16-3 lead.

WIth daylight waning, the Gators looked to go back to work in the bottom of the ninth.  Noah Shannon led off with a pinch hit single, before pinch hitter Keegan Phillips drew a walk.  A single from Dawson would load the bases, before DiMaggio lofted a one-base hit down the third base line to bring home Shannon and keep the bases loaded.  The game was then halted due to darkness, with Wooster up 16-5. 

When the game resumed 16 hours later, the momentum stayed with the Gators, who continued its furious ninth-inning rally.  Picking up from Saturday's action with the bases juiced and nobody out, Fiorentini drew a four-pitch walk to bring home Dawson.  Bristol followed with a single to bring home Pawlak, before DiMaggio scored on a wild pitch, cutting the deficit in half to 16-8.

Brandon Pouch would draw a walk, loading the bases once again, before Chase Davis was hit by a pitch to bring home another run and make it 16-9.  In his second at bat of the inning, Phillips singled down the right field line, sending Bristol and Pouch home, and Dawson would follow with another base hit through the right side to plate Davis and Phillips with the team's ninth and tenth runs of the inning and make the score 16-13.  Pawlak would single to center to keep the rally alive, but Wooster reliever Michael Whitaker, the team's sixth pitcher of the game and fourth of the inning, would finally put out the flames by recording a pair of ground balls to close out the game.

The two teams combined for 32 hits in the wild affair, with 11 different Gators finding the hit column.  Dawson led the way, going 4-for-6 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while DiMaggio finished with three hits.

Robert Julian started and took the loss, allowing five runs (three earned) in two innings of work.  A total of six different Gators toed the rubber in a game that lasted 3:34, and that saw the two teams combine to throw 389 pitches.

Starter Tyler Schuch earned the win for Wooster, allowing two runs on six hits with two K's in seven innings of work.  Whitaker was credited with the save after closing out the wild ninth inning.

GAME TWO – WOOSTER 3, ALLEGHENY 2
After opening the day by completing a wild offensive battle, the Gators and Fighting Scots engaged in a classic pitcher's duel in the regularly-scheduled Sunday doubleheader opener.
Allegheny starter Jarod Deagan and Wooster's Nanak Saran each turned in sterling performances, but neither pitcher would record the decision after a ninth-inning Wooster rally that saw the Scots prevail 3-2.

Both teams stranded runners in each of the first two innings, before Wooster put up the first real scoring threat of the game in the top of the third. A single and base-hit bunt put runners at first and second to begin the frame, but an unassisted double play on a liner to Wagner at first base would quash the threat.  With two down, the Fighting Scots' Michael Wielansky laced a single, but was left stranded at first after Deagan got a fly out to end the frame.

Pawlak led off the bottom of the third with a triple off the fence in straightaway center field.  Two batters later, Patrick Orr send a ground ball to the right side, bringing Pawlak home with the first run of the ballgame.

The score would remain 1-0 for the next six innings, as both Deagan and Saran continued to trade zeroes.  Between the fourth and seventh innings, Deagan would retire 12 straight Wooster batters, notching four strikeouts and five ground outs over the span.

The Gators were able to put runners in scoring position in both the fifth and sixth innings, first with Pawlak walking and moving to second on a grounder in the fifth, and then with Flaherty leading off the sixth with a double, but were unable to add any insurance.

In the top of the eighth, Wooster's Jake Stuursma led off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, but Deagan kept the shutout in tact by retiring the final two batters via fly out and ground out.

The Gators finally were able to add onto the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Vincent Carone led off with a single to the right field corner, and alertly took second base after it was misplayed by the rightfielder. Two batters later, Dawson laced a single to right to bring home Carone and push the Gator lead to 2-0.

Wielansky led off the top of the ninth with a home run to left field to make it a one-run game, before three straight Fighting Scots reached base to load the bases with no outs.  Gator reliever Chase Boyer recorded the first out after fielding a comebacker and cutting down the lead runner at the plate, before he struck out the next hitter for the second out.  Wooster's Chandler Dippman then worked a full count, and facing his last strike, lofted a pop up into shallow left field, over the drawn in infield to score a pair of runs and give Wooster a 3-2 lead.
In the bottom of the ninth, Whitaker got a pair of strikeouts to begin the frame, and after a two-out walk to Pawlak, the reliever induced a groundout to end the game.

Six days after earning a complete game victory over Kenyon, Deagan was arguably more impressive against the Scots, as he threw eight shutout innings, allowing just four hits with five strikeouts.  His counterpart Saran threw 7.2 innings and allowed two runs on five hits with four K's.

James Usher was credited with the win for Wooster after retiring the only batter he faced in the bottom of the eighth, while Whitaker earned his second save of the series with a scoreless ninth.

GAME THREE – WOOSTER 9, ALLEGHENY 0
Wooster carried its momentum from the late-game rally into the day's final game, as they sent 11 men to the plate in the top of the first inning to score seven runs on eight hits. 
The Fighting Scot lead would grow in the top of the second, as they added two more runs to take a 9-0 lead.

From there, the Allegheny bullpen buckled down, finishing with six shutout innings.  Despite allowing two baserunners in the third, fourth, and fifth frames, Joe Nagel pitched out of trouble each time to prevent the Fighting Scots from adding on.

Nagel gave way to Cy Perry in the sixth, and the junior threw four scoreless frames, allowing four hits and striking out three.

Offensively, Allegheny was unable to climb out of the early hole, as the squad managed just four hits for the game.  The team's best chance to find the scoreboard came in the third inning, as Flaherty smacked a one-out double, Bristol reached on an error, and Jacob Shick was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Wooster starter Chandler Dippman would then escape the threat by getting out of the inning with a 4-6-3 double play.

From that point forward, the Gators saw just one runner advance to second base, as Wooster reliever Brian Murray threw the final four innings and allowed just one base runner, with a walk to DiMaggio in the ninth.

Nate Pastorek started and took the loss, allowing two runs on two hits in the first inning before being removed due to injury.  Dippman threw the first five innings, allowing no runs on four hits.
The Gators will now have a six-day layoff, before they look to bounce back with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader with Ohio Wesleyan at the Robertson Athletic Complex beginning at 2 p.m.
 

NOTES: Prior to the regularly-scheduled Sunday opener, the Gators' nine seniors- Boyer, Dawson, DiMaggio, Orr, Shick, Shea Beaumont, Robert Julian, Corey Keenan, and Bolt Seymour – were recognized in an on-field Senior Day ceremony.  The nine-man class has helped the Gators to 85 wins over their careers, while the group has combined to earn eight All-NCAC selections.