MEADVILLE, Pa. --
Sean Kealey (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) tossed a complete game and
Max Sessions (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) delivered a bases-loaded, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to send the Allegheny baseball team to a 3-2 win over Wabash to open North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play.
After Wabash tied the game at 2-2 with a lead-off solo homer in the top of the inning, Kealey was able to retire the next three hitters to keep the score tied and allow his offense the chance to win it in the ninth. They did just that as
Tommy Cannon (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory) opened the frame with a double to right field, and a sacrifice bunt by
Keegan Phillips (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) was sandwiched between intentional walks to
Luke Chutko (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and
Bret Kelly (Tonawanda, N.Y./Tonawanda). That brought
Max Sessions (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) to the plate with the bases loaded and one out and the senior delivered by driving the first pitch he saw to the fence in left center as the Gators earned the 3-2 win to begin NCAC play.
The Blue & Gold held a 2-1 lead heading into the ninth inning after scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh. Chutko delivered an RBI sac fly and Phillips followed with a single for the lead.
Kealey tossed the first nine-inning complete game of his career with a career high of 139 pitches. The lefty improved to 3-2 on the year, striking out seven and scattering six hits and two runs. He also walked two.
Offensively,
Austin Bristol (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) recorded his fourth multi-hit game of the year in going 2-for-4. Cannon and
Brett Heckert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) delivered the two extra-base hits for Allegheny as both doubled.
With the win, Allegheny improves above .500 for the first time this season at 8-7 after winning 8 of its last 10 games. The Gators open NCAC play with a win for the third time in the last four years. Game two of the scheduled doubleheader was suspended in the bottom of the third inning with Allegheny leading, 2-0, thanks to a two-run double by Cannon in the first inning. Additional details on if and when the game will be conclude will be posted as available. As of now, there is not make-up date set.
Allegheny is set to play a nonconference single, nine-inning home game against Baldwin Wallace on Tuesday, April 2. First pitch at Robertson is scheduled for 3 p.m.
