TUCSON, Ariz. – The Allegheny baseball team split a lengthy doubleheader heavy on offense on its penultimate day in Arizona. In the opener, Allegheny (4-8) overcame some shoddy defense by producing some prodigious offense to top Wisconsin-Superior, while in the nightcap, the Gators were unable to climb out of a large early deficit, as their late rally came up short in a loss to Carleton.

GAME ONE
Allegheny 19, Wisconsin-Superior 18
In the wild, back-and-forth opener, the Gators pounded out 24 hits and overcame nine errors in the field to prevail 19-18 over Wisconsin-Superior.

Eleven different players tallied at least one hit for the Gators, while 10 scored at least one run, and nine had at least one RBI.  Keegan Phillips led the offensive charge, going 3-for-6 with a sacrifice fly and a career-high five RBIs.  Tom Cannon, Tyler Wagner, Max Sessions, and Luke Chutko also had three hits apiece, with Sessions driving in three runs and scoring three, and Wagner and Chutko each racking two doubles. Bret Kelly and Ethan Pawlak each had two hits, with Kelly tallying his first career triple.

Wisconsin-Superior got on the board first, taking advantage of a leadoff error to plate three unearned runs to take an early 3-0 lead.

In the top of the third, the first two Gator batters were retired in order, before the offense awoke in a big way.  The next 10 hitters would reach base, as Allegheny scored eight runs on eight hits to take an 8-3 lead.  Wagner and Evan Davis each stroked RBI doubles in the frame, while Sessions laced a two-run single.

The lead was short-lived, however, as the Yellow Jackets countered with five runs in the bottom of the third to forge an 8-8 tie.  Wisconsin-Superior was aided by four Allegheny errors in the inning, as four of its five runs were unearned.

Allegheny got the lead back in the top of the fifth, as Kelly laced a one-out triple and scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by Phillips to make it 9-8.

The Gators put together another lengthy inning in the top of the six, again sending 11 men to the plate to score six runs on seven hits.  Sessions hit an RBI double, while Pawlak, Phillips, Cullen Flaherty, and Cannon also added run-scoring singles, as the Gators boosted their lead to 15-8.

As was the case three inning earlier, the Yellow Jackets answered right back to score nine runs on eight hits, with one Gator error, to regain the lead at 17-15 heading into the seventh.

Sessions and Ronaldo Del Duca led off the top of the seventh with back-to-back singles, before Sessions scored on a Chutko double to the right-center gap, and Del Duca crossed the plate on an RBI ground out by Kelly to tie the game at 17.  With two outs, Phillips came through with a single through the middle to score Chutko and give Allegheny back the lead, 18-17. 

Gator reliever Travis Neamon held the Yellow Jackets off the board in the bottom of the seventh, and the Allegheny offense would add some much-needed insurance in the top of the eighth.  Wagner laced his second double of the game to lead off the frame, before scoring two batters later on a Chutko double to make the score 19-17.

The Yellow Jackets' Brad Rolf led off the bottom of the eighth with a home run down the right field line to cut the Gator lead to one run, while two batters later, the Jackets had a man reach by way of a Gator error.  Joe Nagel was able to pitch out of the jam, getting a ground ball for the second out, before Cannon picked off a runner at second base from behind the plate to end the inning and preserve the one-run lead.

After the Gators went down in order in the top of the ninth, Wisconsin-Superior's leadoff man reached on a single to start the bottom half of the frame.  Nagel struck out the next batter, but would then issue a walk to put the tying run at second, and the winning run at first.  Dalton Donachie was then summoned from the bullpen, and would need just four pitches to record a pair of ground ball outs and seal the wild win.

Cy Perry made his first start on the mound for the Gators and was saddled with the no-decision, as he worked the first five innings and gave up just one earned run (seven unearned) on six hits, with four K's and two walks.  Neamon, the fourth pitcher of the day, was credited with the win after allowing no runs on two hits in 1 1/3 innings, while Donachie recorded his first career save.

Wisconsin-Superior, which totaled 17 hits on the day, was led by Matt Boyde, who finished 5-for-6 with three runs scored and three RBIs.  Teammate Bryce Flanagan also drove in three RBIs, finishing 3-for-5.  The Yellow Jackets used seven hurlers on the day, with Zach Bennett taking the loss after allowing three runs on four hits in an inning of work.

The 19 runs scored were the most for the Gators in a game since a 19-17 win over Mount Union on Apr. 25, 2016, while the 24 hits were the team's most since it racked a school-record 25 in a win over Gannon on Apr. 3, 1997.  Additionally, Allegheny totaled 49 at bats, third most in team history and most since an Apr. 13, 2005 win over Pitt-Bradford, while the Gators' seven doubles tied for third most in team history, and most since an eight-double output on Apr. 18, 2003 against Oberlin.
 
GAME TWO
Carleton 13, Allegheny 9

As was the case in the first game of the evening, the Gators' opposition scored first, plating a single tally in the bottom of the first, but it could have been worse, as starter Clay Coon minimized the damage. Carleton loaded the bases with no outs, before Coon struck out back-to-back batters.  The first run came home by way of a bases loaded walk, but Coon got a ground out to end the frame and keep the deficit at one.

In the bottom of the second, the Knights sent eight men to the plate and scored three runs on three hits and a walk, before adding two more runs in the third by way of three singles and two sacrifice bunts to go up 6-0.

The Gators finally found the scoreboard in the visiting half of the sixth. Brandon Pouch opened by lacing a pinch hit single to right field, before Phillips drew a walk.  After a fly out, Cannon hit a hot grounder right to the second baseman, who stepped on the bag to force Phillips.  The ensuing throw to first for the double play sailed into right field, however, and Pouch scampered home with Allegheny's first run of the game.  Wagner then promptly followed with a sharp single to right center to plate Cannon and cut the gap to 6-2.

Carleton would counter with four runs in the bottom of the sixth, as a leadoff walk was followed up by two perfectly placed bunt singles.  Griffin Bolte then rolled a grounder through a drawn-in infield to plate a pair of runs, before an errant throw to third on an attempted steal sailed into left field to bring home the third run of the inning. A sacrifice fly would plate the fourth and final run of the inning, giving the Knights a 10-2 lead.
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The Gators looked to chip away in the seventh.  Chutko and Andrew Vincent led off with back-to-back singles, before Carone drew a walk to load the bases.  Pouch smacked a ground ball to first, and on the attempt to get Chutko at home, the throw was off the mark and everybody was safe.  Phillips then came through with his sixth RBI of the day with a sharp single that plated Vincent and cut the gap to 10-4.  Flaherty followed by hitting a bouncing ball that got through the first baseman and rolled into the right field corner, plating three more runs to cut the gap to 10-7. Cannon then lifted a fly ball to center field that was dropped, scoring Flaherty and pulling the Gators to within two. Two batters later, Cannon scored on a Chutko sacrifice fly to make it a one-run game.

Carleton created some distance in the bottom of the seventh, using a walk, double, and error to plate two runs and go in front 12-9.  Allegheny stranded a runner in the top of the eight, before the Knights put the game away with a two-out run in the eighth.
 
The Gators totaled 10 hits in the loss, with two apiece from Wagner, Pouch, and Vincent.  Cannon and Pouch each scored two runs. Coon fell to 1-1 with the loss, allowing eight runs on six hits in three innings of work.

Keenan Moore, Josh Small, and Chris Lasch each had three hits to lead Carleton's 14-hit attack, with Lasch scoring three times and driving in three RBIs.  Owen Riley started and earned the win, allowing two runs on five hits, with two strikeouts, in six innings of work.  Wilson Battle worked the final three innings to pick up the save.

The Gators will now close out their spring break trip on Friday with a 1 p.m. (EDT) doubleheader against Hamline at Kino Park.