WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Allegheny College's postseason run came to an unceremonious end on Thursday afternoon with a 9-6 loss to Chatham University in the second round of the 2026 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament at Ross Memorial Park.
Despite entering as the No. 3 seed, the Gators (26-16) were bounced from the double-elimination tournament in upsets against fourth-seeded Bethany College and the sixth-seeded Cougars from Chatham.
Allegheny showed off its patented home-run power against Chatham (30-12), as two-thirds of the team's run production came from homers. Down 3-0 in the top of the fourth inning,
Tyler Skaggs (Champion Heights, Ohio/Champion) belted a two-run shot, his sixth of the year, to trim the deficit to a single run. But after tying the game in the top of the fifth, Chatham first baseman Nolan Boehm broke the tie with a solo homer of his own in the bottom of the frame. Two batters later, third baseman Cooper Baxter clubbed a two-run dinger, as the Cougars doubled up Allegheny, 6-3.
Trailing 9-4 in the ninth, first-year shortstop
Connor Kunkle (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) tried to jumpstart the Gator lineup. With the Blue and Gold down to their final out, Kunkle drove a 2-1 fastball over the wall in left field. That flipped the order back to the top of the lineup, giving the big guns one last chance at the plate. But after lead-off hitter
Wyatt Burchill (Saegertown, Pa./Saegertown) worked a full-count walk,
Ryan Cochran (Pittsburgh, Pa./Deer Lakes) was thrown out on what nearly turned into an infield single for the last out of the game.
Inside the Box Score
- Allegheny scored six runs on seven hits, including two home runs.
- Chatham plated nine runs on 13 hits while also slugging a pair of homers.
- Skaggs finished 3-for-4 with one double and Allegheny's two-run dinger in the fourth.
- Kunkle's lone hit was his two-run shot in the top of the ninth.
- Michael Alspaugh (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.
- On the mound, Zach Miner (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) received the loss after surrendering six runs with five strikeouts in 5.0 innings.
- Boehm and Baxter both were 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs for Chatham.
- Matt Bamford tossed a complete game for the Cougars with 12 strikeouts on 143 total pitches.
News and Notes
- The Gators concluded the 2026 campaign with a 26-16 overall record.
- Thursday's loss snapped a seven-game win streak against Chatham.
- With two homers against the Cougars, the Gators upped their total to 39, the most in a season since 2003 and tied for the eighth-most in single-season history.
- Skaggs' home run was his sixth of the season and the 11th of his career.
- Kunkle logged the third homer of his freshman season.
- Cochran ended his sophomore year with a 20-game on-base streak, tied for the second-longest by a Gator in 2026.
- With four strikeouts out of the bullpen, southpaw Parker McRay (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) ended the spring with a team-high 51 strikeouts in 44.1 innings.
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