ERIE, Pa. -- In its return to action for the first time since March 11, 2020, the Allegheny baseball team recorded an 8-5 win on the road over Penn State-Behrend.
After more than a year between games due to COVID-19 cutting short the 2020 season and pushing back the start of the 2021 campaign,
Brett Heckert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) put the Gators on the board first with a third inning sacrifice fly to center field which scored
Luke Chutko (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills).
One inning later,
Isaiah Lucas (Butler, Pa./Butler) doubled the Allegheny advantage when he belted his first career home run over the left field wall to bring the Gators' lead up to a 2-0.
After Chutko drew a walk in the fifth inning,
Ryan Dougherty (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) smacked a triple to right-center field, bringing Chutko home and extending Allegheny's lead to 3-0.
Two innings later, Dougherty drove Chutko home once again, this time on a double down the left-field line, growing the lead to 4-0. Four batters later,
Ben Kosbie (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side Academy) stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and placed a hit just out of reach of the shortstop that scored two runs to add some insurance and push the Gator lead up to 6-0.
After Penn State-Behrend put two runs on the board in the seventh inning, Kosbie responded with his second two-RBI single of the game in the ninth that increased the lead to 8-2.
The Lions fought their way back in the bottom of the ninth inning but fell short of the comeback as three runs were not enough to overcome the Gator lead.
Dougherty, in his first game in an Allegheny uniform, went 3-for-5, including two extra-base knocks with a double and triple. Kosbie accounted for half of the team's RBI, driving in four. Chutko and
Tyler Hettich (Sarver, Pa./Freeport) chipped in with two hits apiece.
On the mound,
Bobby Kusinsky (Harrison City, Pa./Penn Trafford) earned his first career win, going 6.1 innings and giving up just two runs on five hits while striking out four batters.
The Gators return to action on March 31 when they host Kenyon to open up North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play. First pitch of the conference doubleheader at the Robertson Athletic Complex is scheduled for 1 p.m.
