MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny baseball team completed a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) sweep of Franciscan Sunday (April 19) as they defeated the Barons 19-5.
 
The Gators got to work right away as Ryan Cochran (Pittsburgh, Pa./Deer Lakes) continued his big weekend with a solo home run in the first. The home run was his tenth of the season, and fourth of the doubleheader. Two walks and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases later in the inning. Wyatt Burchill (Saegertown, Pa./Saegertown) hit a sacrifice fly to bring Noah Philson (Greenville, Pa./Greenville) home, giving the Gators a 2-0 lead.
 
Zach Miner (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) led-off the second with a double down the right field line. After a Nick Banez (Edmonds, Wash./Meadowdale) bunt single moved him up, Liam Irving (Olney, Md./Sherwood) brought him in on a sacrifice fly.
 
The Barons made up a pair of runs in the second, and another in the third, as they tied the game at three after three innings.
 
Allegheny regained the lead in the fourth. Miner produced his second hit of the game, a single. After Cochran was intentionally walked, Philson doubled off the left field fence, scoring both runners and putting the Gators in front 5-3.
 
In the fifth, Michael Alspaugh (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) led-off with a single and Burchill drew a walk. Miner would knock Alspaugh in on a sacrifice fly, and Banez had a RBI single to plate Burchill as their lead grew to 7-3.
 
Tyler Skaggs (Champion Heights, Ohio/Champion) drove in a runner in the sixth as the Gators extended their lead to 8-3.
 
Franciscan chipped away at the five run deficit in the sixth as they found home twice, cutting it to three runs.
 
The Gators got a run back in the seventh. Connor Kunkle (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) doubled to right field and Miner drove him in on an infield single. Banez got on base with a single down the right field line to put two on for Cochran. Once again, Cochran went deep, hitting a three-run home run over the left field fence for his second shot of the game, making it 12-5.
 
The lead grew to 14 runs in the seventh. Jake Fix (Westlake, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) was hit by a pitch before Alspaugh doubled. Burchill drove Fix in and Alspaugh scored on a wild pitch. Kunkle then hit his second home run of the season as the lead grew 16-5. Two batters later, Banez hit a solo home run, his third home run of the season. Eli Bryant (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) drove in Irving later in the inning, and eventually came across the plate himself on a Johnny Hughes (Cheswick, Pa./Springdale) sacrifice fly.
 
The Gator lead held in the bottom of the inning as they completed the doubleheader sweep.
 
Inside the Box

• Cochran hit a three-run and a solo home run as part of a three hit game, giving him five home runs in the series.
• Banez had a four hit game, driving in two runs with a solo home run.
• Miner had three hits, a double and two RBI.
• Kunkle had a home run and a double, driving in a pair of runs.
• Alspaugh had a multi-hit game with a double. 
• Philson and Burchill both drove in a run on one hit, Philson's being a double.
• Bryant had a RBI double.
• Irving, Skaggs and Hughes all tallied an RBI.
• Owen White (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) earned the win in relief. In 3.1 innings of work, he struck out five while allowing just two runs on three hits.
• Parker McRay (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) started the game on the mound, striking out a season-high 11 batters.

News and Notes

• Allegheny is now 8-0 all-time against Franciscan.
• McRay's 11 strikeouts, a career-best, is the most for a Gator since 2023.
• The combined 16 strikeouts between McRay and White is tied for fourth most as a team in program history, and their most since 2022.
• Cochran's 11 home runs so far this season is already tied for eighth most in a single season, and the most for a Gator since 1998.
• Allegheny recorded their sixth straight game with 10 double digit runs. 

Up Next
The Gators will host Saint Vincent Wednesday (April 22) in their 2026 home finale.