Pittsburgh, Pa. - Through ten innings of Penn State University Athletic Conference action, the Penn State Greater Allegheny baseball team took a pair of wins from Penn State York, Saturday afternoon, by tallies of 10-0 and 13-0.
Game one began with Greater Allegheny notching runs in the bottom of the first inning. Junior third baseman Clay Groff (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) walked to first base before senior shortstop Aaron McGee (Harrison City, Pa./Penn-Trafford) was hit-by-pitch. Senior right-fielder Gianmarco Concepcion (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Mercyhurst North East) bunt singled to fill the bases before sophomore first baseman Joshua Arroyo (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico/Levittown Baptist Academy) batted in Groff before Concepcion stole home, GA ahead 2-0.
GA came back to bat in the bottom of the third inning as freshman center-fielder Terance Wroniak (Pittsburgh, Pa./Carrick) doubled down the left-field line as Groff followed him with another double down the right-field line, batting in Wroniak. McGee singled to right-center field, moving Groff to score, GA 4-0.
The bottom of the fourth inning brought a sophomore second baseman Adam Jacko (North Versailles, Pa./East Allegheny) single up the middle as senior designated hitter Matt Klena (Allison Park, Pa./Shaler Area) followed up with another single. Wroniak bunt singled to bring home Jacko before Groff doubled to right field, advancing to third on the throw, pushing both Wroiniak and Klena home. McGee hit a sacrifice fly to score Groff, Greater Allegheny 8-0. Senior catcher Troy Ambros (Pembroke Pines, Fla./West Broward) bunt singled before Concepcion singled. Arroyo singled to right-field to bat home Ambros as sophomore left-fielder Mark Hollis (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) reached first on a fielding error to move Concepcion to score, Greater Allegheny achieving their tenth run after the bottom of the fourth inning, GA taking game one 10-0.
Senior right-handed pitcher Eddie Emes (New Brighton, Pa./New Brighton) saw 17 batters through five innings as he allowed just two hits. The senior threw 52 pitches, 38 of them being strikes, as he sat down seven batters on strike-outs.
The GA offense laid down 12 hits off of 22 at bats. Groff went 2-for-2 as he posted three runs and three RBIs himself. Wroniak batted 2-for-2 as he added two runs himself along with one batted home. Concepcion and Arroyo both hit 2-for-3 as Concepcion scored two runs and Arroyo earned two RBIs.
Game two began with freshman right-handed pitcher Nick Jeffers (Vinton, Ohio/River Valley) on the mound. The bottom of the first was a big at bat for Greater Allegheny. Groff started out the inning with a hit-by-pitch as McGee singled and Ambros was hit-by-pitch. Concepcion reached on a fielder's choice as Groff was out at home plate. Arroyo hammered a grand slam into deep center-field to bat catapult GA ahead of York, 4-0.
Sophomore catcher Francisco Del Rio (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy) doubled down the left-field line as junior pinch runner John Nusser (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brashear) came in to run for Del Rio. Hollis was hit-by-pitch before both he and Nusser advanced on a stolen base. Jacko doubled down the left-field line to bat home Hollis and Nusser. Wroniak bunt singled before advancing to second on an error alongside scoring Jacko on the error. McGee singled to left-center field to score Wroniak and cap off the scoring drive for the first inning, Greater Allegheny ahead early, 8-0.
Concepcion doubled to left-center to start the bottom of the second as Arroyo walked and Del Rio was hit by pitch to load the bases. Hollis reached on a fielder's choice as Concepcion scored. With a Jacko single to left-field, Arroyo was pushed to score to put Greater Allegheny ahead of the visiting team through two innings of action in game two, 10-0.
The game went scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning. Del Rio singled to center-field before Nusser doubled down the left-field line. Freshman pinch hitter Sam Ligeros (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) grounded out to bat in Del Rio. Groff walked to first base as McGee singled to right-field, scoring Nusser. With an Ambros double, he batted in Groff and marked the 13th and final run of the Penn State University Athletic Conference double-header.
Through five innings pitched and 23 batters faced, Jeffers threw 68 pitches, 43 being strikes. He allowed just five hits in his first win of the season, sitting down four on strike-outs. The Greater Allegheny offense managed 13 hits on 25 at bats, posting 13 total runs. McGee hit 3-of-4, posting two RBIs and a run scored. Ambros went 2-for-3 in game two, scoring a run himself and pushing another home. Arroyo went 1-for-1 with four RBIs and two runs scored himself, including a grand slam homerun. Jacko went 2-for-2 with three RBIs and one run marked as Del Rio went 2-for-2 with one run marked.
With the pair of wins, Greater Allegheny advanced their overall record to 24-6, 14-0 PSUAC. The men look to keep their ten-game win streak alive tomorrow, as the gentlemen host their last home game of the 2014-15 season. Penn State Mont Alto comes to Woodland Hills, Sunday afternoon, for a PSUAC double-header. The first pitch of the senior recognition game is set for 2 p.m.
