MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny baseball team split a pair of North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) games with Hiram Wednesday (April 20).
Hiram won game one 2-0, before the Gators bounced back with a 6-2 win in game two.
The opener remained scoreless until the Terriers broke through in the ninth for two runs.
In the bottom of the ninth,
Brayden Cartwright (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) singled with two outs. However, Hiram was able to secure the final out to clinch the win.
Ben Kosbie (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side Academy),
Jacob Budnar (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights),
Brett Heckert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny),
Jake Stotsky (Pittsburgh, Pa./Vincentian Academy) and Cartwright each had a hit.
Bobby Kusinsky (Harrison City, Pa./Penn-Trafford) pitched 8.1 innings, scattering three hits while striking out nine, but suffered his first defeat of 2022.
In game two,
Tyson Bryant-Dawson (Oakland, Calif./Manvel (Texas)) and Stotsky hit back-to-back singles to lead off the second inning. Bryant-Dawson would score on a balk before
Sullivan Schueltz (Ligonier, Pa./Ligonier Valley) drove in Stotsky with an infield hit.
In the fourth, Stotsky would single and eventually score on a wild pitch to make it 3-0.
Kosbie and Budnar hit back-to-back singles to lead off the fifth. Bryant-Dawson was walked to load the bases. Stotsky grounded out but drove Kosbie home to increase the lead to 4-0.
Schueltz singled and scored in the seventh inning. Kosbie doubled to left center and came across the plate on a Budnar RBI.
Hiram would add two runs late, but it was not enough to overcome the Gator lead.
Brent Herrmann (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) earned the win, striking out six in 6.2 innings of work.
Preston Pierce (Camano Island, Wash./Stanwood) pitched the final 2.1 innings, striking out three more.
Kosbie led the Gators with three hits in game two. Budnar, Stotsky and Schueltz also had multi-hit games.
The Gators are back in action Thursday (April 21) in nonconference action in Meadville against Penn State Behrend.
