Greater Allegheny Baseball Take Two Games over Alfred State, 5-1 and 7-6

Greater Allegheny Baseball Take Two Games over Alfred State, 5-1 and 7-6

Butler, Pa. - With a set of seven-inning contests scheduled for Saturday morning at Pullman Park, the Penn State Greater Allegheny baseball team persevered over USCAA familiar foe, Alfred State, with two winning tallies of 5-1 and 7-6.

Senior right-handed pitcher Eddie Emes (New Brighton, Pa./New Brighton) started on the mound for Greater Allegheny, as the top of the first sat down one-two-three thanks to the GA infield.

Greater Allegheny was next up to bat as senior third baseman Clay Groff (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice walked to first base to open the bottom of the first. Groff advanced to third on a stolen base and a wild pitch before senior shortstop Aaron McGee (Harrison City, Pa./Penn-Trafford) sacrifice flied out to right-field to score Groff, GA ahead 1-0.  Senior catcher Troy Ambros (Pembroke Pines, Fla./West Broward) reached first base on a fielding error as senior center fielder Gianmarco Concepcion (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Mercyhurst North East) singled to put two on base. Sophomore first baseman Joshua Arroyo (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico/Levittown Baptist Academy) hammered a double to the left field wall, batting both Ambros and Concepcion across home plate, GA up 3-0.

The second inning went scoreless before Greater Allegheny came back up to bat in the bottom of the third. Ambros doubled to left field before Concepcion walked to fill the first two bases. Arroyo singled to left field to bat in Ambros, 4-0 Greater Allegheny.

The bottom of the fifth saw another Ambros double as he advanced to third on a Concepcion single. Sophomore designated hitter Francisco Del Rio (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy) sacrifice flied out to left field, batting in Ambros, Greater Allegheny now ahead of Alfred State 5-0.

Alfred State got on the board in the bottom of sixth, as they managed two hits and one run to keep from getting shut-out, 5-1 GA. The game ended after the top of the seventh inning as Greater Allegheny took game one over United States Collegiate Athletic Association foe, 5-1.

Ambros batted 2-for-3 as he scored three runs himself. Arroyo went 2-for-3 as he batted three runners across home plate. Emes recorded his second win of the season on the mound as he threw a complete seven inning game, allowing just three hits and one run. The right-hander faced 26 batters, throwing 57 strikes on 97 pitches.

Senior right-handed pitcher Matt Klena (Allison Park, Pa./Shaler Area) started on the mound in game two for the blue-and-white.

The second game went scoreless until the bottom of the third inning when Greater Allegheny came up to bat. Sophomore left-fielder Mark Hollis (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) singled before Groff tripled up and over the left-fielders hands, scoring Hollis, 1-0 GA. McGee sacrifice flied out to center-field to bring in Groff, putting Greater Allegheny ahead two runs to none. 

Alfred State managed two runs in the top of the fourth inning, evening the score with Greater Allegheny. To start the fifth inning, McGee moved from short stop to pitch the remainder of the game. With three on base, Alfred State's Rafael Perozo hit the top of the fence for the ball to go over the fence for a four-run homer, catapulting Alfred State above Greater Allegheny, 6-2.

GA came back out to bat with their tasks cut out for them. Hollis doubled before Groff walked to first base. McGee singled to fill the bases before Ambros came out to slug a double over the center-fielder, batting in both Hollis and Groff to slice the deficit in half, 6-4. Arroyo sacrifice flied out to center-field to score McGee, Greater Allegheny behind just one run to conclude the fifth inning.

The sixth inning came and went as did the top of the seventh for Alfred State. Greater Allegheny came back up to the batters box anxious to take their second win of the day. Ambros singled to center-field as both Concepcion and Arroyo reached base on error by the infield. With a Del Rio single, Ambros scored the tying run to put the two teams in a dead heat. Freshman right-fielder Terance Wroniak (Pittsburgh, Pa./Carrick) reached first on a fielder's choice, but Alfred State missed getting the out as Concepcion tallied the winning run, Greater Allegheny victorious after a 14-inning day, 7-6.

Ambros finished game two as he hit 3-for-4 as he batted in two runs along with scoring one himself. Concepcion went 2-for-4 as he scored a run. McGee earned his third win on the mound as he saw 13 batters over the course of three innings, as he threw 30 strikes on 52 pitches.

With the set of wins, the Penn State Greater Allegheny baseball team advances their record to an overall 10-4 mark as they gear up for Penn State University Athletic Conference play. On Monday, PSUGA is set to host Penn State Fayette for a double-header at Pullman Park in Butler. The first-pitch of game one is set for 2 p.m.