Media, Pa. - The Penn State Greater Allegheny baseball team allowed Penn State University Athletic Conference foe, Penn State Brandywine, just four runs on the day, as GA tallied two victories 11-2 and 6-2, improving their mark in the league 8-0.
Game one began with a junior third baseman Clay Groff (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) single through the right side. Senior shortstop Aaron McGee (Harrison City, Pa./Penn-Trafford) singled through right field before he advanced to second and Groff got caught stealing. Senior catcher Troy Ambros (Pembroke Pines, Fla./West Broward) singled up the middle to bat home McGee, putting Greater Allegheny ahead 1-0.
The second and third innings went silent until Greater Allegheny came back to bat in the top of the fourth inning. Senior right-fielder Gianmarco Concepcion (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Mercyhurst North East) walked to first base before sophomore first baseman Joshua Arroyo (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico/Levittown Baptist Academy) singled to right field. Sophomore left-fielder Mark Hollis (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) singled to left field to bat home Concepcion. Sophomore second baseman Adam Jacko (North Versailles, Pa./East Allegheny) reached first on a fielder's choice to fill the bases before sophomore pinch hitter Francisco Del Rio (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy) grounded out to bat home Arroyo. Groff came back to slug a double to left field, batting both Jacko and Hollis home, Greater Allegheny now ahead 5-0.
A scoreless bottom of the fourth for Brandywine led into a GA top fifth where Conception and Arroyo both singled before Hollis was hit-by-pitch to fill the bases within the first three batters. Jacko reached on a fielder's choice to score Concepcion as senior designated hitter Matt Klena (Allison Park, Pa./Shaler Area) reached first base on error, Arroyo scoring. Freshman center-fielder Terance Wroniak (Pittsburgh, Pa./Carrick) grounded-out into a double-play to score Hollis. Groff blasted another double to left center to score Jacko and elevate Greater Allegheny over Brandywine, 9-0.
Ambros singled up the middle to start the sixth inning before sophomore pinch runner John Nusser (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brashear) came in to run and steal second. Arroyo singled through the left side to usher Nusser to score. Hollis reached on a fielder's choice before Jacko doubled to left field. Klena singled to second base to bat in Hollis and end the Greater Allegheny scoring drive at 11.
Brandywine managed to get on the board in the bottom of the sixth, as two runners crossed home plate, Greater Allegheny taking game one by a 11-2 margin.
Senior right-handed pitcher Eddie Emes (New Brighton, Pa./New Brighton) earned his fourth win on the season, after pitching a complete seven-inning game. The righty faced 31 batters, sitting down nine on strike-outs and allowing just two runs and one walk. The GA offense accumulated 15 hits on 35 batters.
Groff finished game one going 4-for-5 with three RBIs as Arroyo went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Both McGee and Ambros batted 2-of-5 from the batters box, combining one run and one RBI.
Greater Allegheny came back to bat in the top of the first inning of game two. Both McGee and Ambros singled before Concepcion walked to fill the bases. Arroyo sacrifice flied out to center field to bat home McGee, 1-0 GA.
The game remained scoreless until the top of the fifth inning. McGee singled to the shortstop before Ambros dropped a double to right field. Concepcion reached on a fielder's choice to bat in McGee. Arroyo singled to the shortstop to score Ambros. Jacko then singled through the left side, pushing Concepcion to score and put Greater Allegheny ahead of Brandywine, 4-0.
A Brandywine double led to two runs tallied in the bottom of the fifth inning, cutting the deficit in half 4-2.
Two runs were too close for comfort for Greater Allegheny, inflating their score by two in the top of the sixth. Nusser and McGee singled through the left side before Ambros singled up the middle to bat both McGee and Nusser home and to finalize the second contest, 6-2 GA Lions.
Klena remains perfect on the bump as he improves his overall record to 5-0 with six innings pitched on the day. Through 28 batters faced, Klena sat down four on strike-out as he allowed just two runs in game two. McGee hit 3-of-4 as he posted three runs himself. Ambros also went 3-for-4, notching one run himself and two RBIs. Jacko hit 2-of-4 with one run batted in as Nusser went 1-for-1 with one run scored.
Greater Allegheny (18-6, 8-0) stays on the road for the second-half of their Penn State University Athletic Conference weekend with the softball team. The men are set to travel to Penn State Schyulkill for a double-header set for 12 p.m.
