McKeesport, Pa. - As the Penn State Greater Allegheny baseball team awaits their United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Championship appearance, the men get a set of non-conference match-ups against Mercyhurst and CCAC-Boyce in order to prepare their skills for the week ahead.
In a nine-inning bout against Mercyhurst on Friday afternoon, GA held the home team scoreless through the first three innings of action before they went down 12-0 before the top of the ninth inning.
Senior third baseman Aaron McGee (Harrison City, Pa./Penn-Trafford) reached on a fielder's choice before senior catcher Troy Ambros (Pembroke Pines, Fla./West Broward) singled to center-field. Senior right-fielder Gianmarco Concepcion (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Mercyhurst North East) singled through the left-side to fill the bases before sophomore first baseman Joshua Arroyo (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico/Levittown Baptist Academy) walked to push McGee to score. As freshman outfielder Dylan Ernst (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport Area) walked, he pushed Ambros to score, giving GA a final score of 12-2 Mercyhurst.
Ambros went 3-for-4 on the day with one run scored. Sophomore designated hitter Francisco Del Rio (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy) and Concepcion went 1-for-4 in the batters box as Arroyo and Ernst earned an RBI each.
Saturday brought another match from familiar foe, CCAC-Boyce, who GA beat out earlier in the season 8-3.
Groff singled to open up the first inning before sophomore shortstop Adam Jacko (North Versailles, Pa./East Allegheny) and Arroyo filled the bases behind him. Del Rio reached on a fielder's choice as Groff scored, 1-0 GA.
A set of freshman right-handed pitcher Terance Wroniak (Pittsburgh, Pa./Carrick) strike-outs sat down CCAC-Boyce in the bottom of the inning before GA came back to bat. Junior second baseman John Nusser (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brashear) walked before Wroniak doubled to score Nusser, 2-0.
Four more strike-outs led to Greater Allegheny's bat in the top of the fourth. Sophomore left-fielder Mark Hollis (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) doubled before Nusser singled to score Hollis, 3-0.
The top of the fifth started out with a Jacko hit-by-pitch before Arroyo reached on an error. Holiis singled to score Jacko, as GA continued to one-up Boyce, 4-0.
The sixth inning saw a huge jump in score for the Greater Allegheny Lions. Ernst and Jacko walked as junior third baseman Clay Groff (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) singled. Concepcion singled to score Ernst before Arroyo hammered a single to score both Jacko and Groff, 7-0. Hollis was hit-by-pitch to get on base before Nusser doubled to bat in both Arroyo and Concepcion. A change in pitcher brought Ernst, Wroniak and Groff a single to add Hollis, Nusser and Ernst to the scoring board, 12-0 Greater Allegheny.
The top of the seventh saw a freshman first baseman Esteban Lasanta (Gursho, Puerto Rico/Notre Dame) walk to first base as sophomore pinch hitter Alexander Riley (Pittsburgh, Pa./John Marshall) singled. Nusser singled to bat in Lasanta to score the final run of the game, taking CCAC-Boyce 13-0 after seven innings of action.
Wroniak earned his third win of the season on the mound for Greater Allegheny as he pitched five innings, allowing not one hit as he sat down nine of his 21 batters faced on strikeout. Nusser went 3-for-4 on the dat with four runs batted in along with two scored himself. Wroniak hit 2-for-3 with two RBIs as Hollis hit 2-for-3 with one RBI and two runs scored. Groff completed the game as he went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI as Concepcion hit 2-of-5 with one RBI and one run scored.
The Greater Allegheny Lions (30-7, 19-0 PSUAC) are now geared up for the 2015 USCAA Baseball National Championship - Small College World Series. The men are in the number two spot as they await to find out their opponent for Wednesday night, 9 p.m. The Lions will play either Penn State Schyulkill or University of Cincinnati-Clermont in Hampton, Va.
