MEADVILLE, Pa. – After defeating Waynesburg 10-0 in game one of their 2026 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opening doubleheader, the Gators earned a 3-2 walk-off win in game two to complete the sweep in Meadville Saturday (March 1).
Game One - Allegheny 10, Waynesburg 0 (7 innings)
The Gators got on the board early in game one. A walk drawn by
Zach Miner (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) and a single by
Liam Irving (Olney, Md./Sherwood) put a pair of runners on. After stealing bases,
Jake Fix (Westlake, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) drove the pair in as the Gators jumped out to a 2-0 lead.
In a similar fashion of the first, a RBI single by Miner drove in
Michael Alspaugh (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) and
Ty Eberhardt (Pittsburgh, Pa./Hopewell) in the second inning, extending their lead to 4-0.
In the third, the Gators scored three runs on just one hit in the fourth. After loading the bases, Alspaugh was hit by a pitch, bringing Fix in for the run. Eberhardt hit a sac fly which plated
Ryan Cochran (Pittsburgh, Pa./Deer Lakes) before a double by
Connor Kunkle (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) brought
Nick Banez (Edmonds, Wash./Meadowdale) home, making it 7-0.
The Allegheny lead reached 9-0 in the fourth. Fix hit a RBI double that scored
Noah Philson (Greenville, Pa./Greenville) before he came across the plate for the ninth run on an error.
The Gators scored their 10th run in the sixth off an RBI double by Banez.
Ben Shields (Charleroi, Pa./Charleroi Area) continued to shut down the Yellow Jacket offense in the seventh as the Gators earned a seven inning game one win.
Inside the Box
- Shields earned his fourth win of the season, pitching a gem. In 7.0 innings, he allowed just three hits and walked two while striking out four batters.
- Fix drove in three runs on two hits, including a double.
- Miner drove in a pair of runs.
- Irving and Cochran had multi-hit games.
- Kunkle and Banez added an extra-base hit each.
Game Two - Allegheny 3, Waynesburg 2
The Gators left runners on in both the first and second inning before Waynesburg scored their first run of the afternoon in the third.
The Yellow Jackets added to their lead in the sixth after a lead-off hit, making it 2-0.
Allegheny continued to put runners on but were unable to bring them home as they trailed 2-0 entering the ninth.
Waynesburg threatened in the top of the ninth with two runners on, but
Johnny Hughes (Cheswick, Pa./Springdale) came in and recorded the third out on his first pitch to get the Gators out of the jam.
Cochran started the bottom of the frame with a double down the left field line. Banez followed up with an RBI single, cutting the deficit in half.
Wyatt Burchill (Saegertown, Pa./Saegertown) kept the rally going with another Gator hit, moving up an additional base on an error. Later in the inning with one out and two runners on, Eberhardt stepped up to the plate and delivered a walk-off single to the right center gap, bringing Banez and Burchill home as the Gators completed the game two comeback, earning a series sweep.
Inside the Box
- Eberhardt drove in the final two runs for the Gators on his walk-off single.
- Banez had a multi-hit game, driving in a run during the ninth inning rally.
- Cochran also had two hits, including a ninth inning double.
- Burchill, Miner and Kunkle had hits in the game.
- Hughes earned the win, the first of his career.
- Parker McRay (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) got the start on the mound, allowing just two runs and striking out eight in 6.0 innings.
- Harrison Ashley (Jupiter, Fla./The Benjamin School) pitched the other 2.2 innings, allowing just two hits.
News and Notes
- Allegheny is now 15-9 all-time against Waynesburg.
- The Gators swept their conference opening doubleheader for the fifth straight season.
- Shields won his third straight start.
- Hughes earned his first career win.
Up Next
The Gators remain in Meadville Tuesday (March 24) when they host Hiram in a PAC doubleheader.
