BETHANY, W. Va. – The Allegheny baseball team traveled to Bethany for a doubleheader Tuesday (April 14), scoring 35 combined runs and picking up a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) sweep of the Bison.
 
The Gators put up a season-high in runs in game one as they captured it 23-3. In game two, the Gators battled back from four runs down in the final inning to complete the sweep, 12-9.
 
Game One - Allegheny 23, Bethany 3 (7 innings)
 
The game started for the Gators with back-to-back doubles by Tyler Skaggs (Champion Heights, Ohio/Champion) and Ryan Cochran (Pittsburgh, Pa./Deer Lakes) to make it 1-0.
 
In the second, the Gators had one of their best offensive innings of the season as they scored 11 runs. Connor Kunkle (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) led off the frame with a triple. After a walk drawn by Ryan Hirschberg (Los Angeles, Calif./Palisades Charter), Nick Banez (Edmonds, Wash./Meadowdale) reached first on a fielder's choice, scoring Kunkle. A bunt single by Ivan Schuster (Chino Valley, Ariz./Prescott) loaded the bases. Skaggs drew a walk to bring in a run before a sacrifice fly by Cochran scored the next. An infield single by Noah Philson (Greenville, Pa./Greenville) loaded the bases once again. Liam Irving (Olney, Md./Sherwood) hit into an error to score a run before Michael Alspaugh (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) doubled to clear the bases. Alspaugh took home on a double steal later in the inning. Two more runs came across the plate off the bat of Banez, who homered to left field. It marked his first home run of the season. Another double by Skaggs drove in Schuster to cap off an 11-run inning.
 
The Gators tacked on two more runs in the fifth. Irving led-off the inning with a single and came around on a Vinny Sarcone (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township) RBI groundout. Later in the inning with the bases loaded, Skaggs drew a walk that brought home Alspaugh, making it 14-0. 
 
The Bison got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, scoring three runs.
 
Allegheny made up the runs in the sixth. Alspaugh drew a walk with two outs and stole second. Sarcone swapped places with him as he hit an RBI double to center. Hirschberg followed up with the Gators second home run of the game, making it 17-3. The Gators loaded the bases later in the inning. Cochran was hit by a pitch to push another run through. Jake Fix (Westlake, Ohio/Saint Ignatius), who entered as a pinch hitter to start the inning, hit a grand slam to right field as the lead grew to 22-3. 
 
Inside the Box

• Sarcone had three hits, with a double, while driving two runs in.
• Schuster also finished the game with three hits.
• Skaggs went two-of-two, driving in three runs on two doubles while drawing three walks.
• Cochran drove in three runs on two hits, with a double.
• Irving also had two hits, driving in a run.
• Fix hit a grand slam.
• Banez had a two-run home run, driving in three total runs.
• Hirschberg hit a two-run home run.
• Alspaugh had three RBI.
• A total of 12 Gators recorded a hit in the game.
• Zach Miner (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) pitched all seven innings in the win. He allowed just two earned runs and seven hits while striking out five. 

Game Two - Allegheny 12, Bethany 9
 
Bethany got on the board first in game two, plating a run in the second inning.
 
The Gators took the lead in the third. Skaggs was hit by a pitch to start the frame before Cochran went deep to left field to put the Gators ahead, 2-1. The home run was his sixth of the year. However, the Bison scored in the bottom of the frame to tie the game back up.
 
After a scoreless fourth, the Gators loaded the bases in the fifth. A bunt by Miner, and a throwing error on the play, brought Irving and Wyatt Burchill (Saegertown, Pa./Saegertown) as Allegheny regained the lead, 4-2.
 
The back-and-forth continued as Bethany pushed five runs across in the bottom of the fifth to jump ahead, 7-4.
 
In the sixth, Philson hit a solo home run to cut the lead to two runs. It was his fifth of the year. In the bottom of the frame, the Bison tacked on two more runs as they led 9-5 going into the seventh.
 
The Gator bats came alive again in the seventh as they put up seven runs. After Burchill started the inning by getting hit, Banez hit his second home run of the doubleheader to drop the deficit to two runs. Miner and a pinch hitting Johnny Hughes (Cheswick, Pa./Springdale) singled back-to-back. A throwing error then allowed Miner to score as the lead was down to just one run. Cochran was intentionally walked to load the bases. Another error allowed both Hughes and Schuster to score as the Gators took a 10-9 lead. Cochran scored on a wild pitch before a passed ball brought Philson in as the Gators jumped ahead 12-9.
 
Ben Shields (Charleroi, Pa./Charleroi Area) came in to pitch the final inning. He allowed a single, but the Gators ended the game on a 4-6-3 double play to complete the comeback.
 
Inside the Box

• Cochran hit a two-run home run as part of a multi-hit game. 
• Philson drove in two runs on a home run and a double.
• Banez also went deep for the second time of the doubleheader, finishing with two hits and two RBI.
• Miner had a hit and drove in a run.
• Irving and Hughes also produced hits.
• Harrison Ashley (Jupiter, Fla./The Benjamin School) earned the win in relief, striking out the lone batter he faced.
• Shields got the save, pitching a scoreless seven innings.
• Caden Williams (Mars, Pa./North Catholic) got the start, going 3.0 innings allowing two earned runs while striking out two. 

News and Notes

• Allegheny is now 41-23 all-time against Bethany.
• Banez hit his fourth and fifth career home runs.
• Hirschberg hit his first collegiate home run.
• Fix hit a grand slam for his first career home run.
• The 23 runs for the Gators in game one was their most in a game since 2022, and tied for fourth most in program history. 

Up Next
The Gators are back on the road Saturday (April 18) at Franciscan.