Washington, Pa. - Through a nine-inning bout with NAIA Division II Point Park, the Penn State Greater Allegheny men's baseball team dropped a 11-1 decision at Consol Energy Park on Wednesday evening.
Point Park managed ten runs in the first five innings of action while Greater Allegheny was held to just a few hits. Sophomore second baseman Luke Padezan (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) and junior shortstop Adam Jacko (North Versailles, Pa./East Allegheny) both managed to connect with a single to make the Lion appearance on the bag.
In the top of the seventh, Ffreshman outfielder Dylan Finocchi (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) reached first base on an error by the second baseman, before taking third base on a wild pitch. Junior catcher Francisco Del Rio (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy) grounded out to the shortstop to push Finocchi to put the lone Lion tally on the board, 10-1 PPU.
Junior outfielder Mark Hollis (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and freshman outfielder Mark Pfleger (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) both managed to get on base in the 7th but fell short to reach home.
A Point Park homer in the bottom of the 8th inning marked the 11th and final run of the game for the home team.
The top of the ninth inning brought a Del Rio single up the middle alongside a Hollis single to left field. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, but time expired in the inning, leaving GA behind Point Park, 11-1.
Hollis went 2-of-4 at the plate while freshman right-handed pitcher Marcos Lopez (Gurabo, Puerto Rico/Ramey High) and junior right-handed pitcher Daniel Daly (Glassport, Pa./South Allegheny) made appearances on the bump. Lopez threw 3 2/3 inning while sitting down four of his 25 batters on strikeouts. Daly came in for the final 4 1/3 inning to face 18 batters, seating five on strikeout.
Greater Allegheny (2-6) will look onward to Saturday, as the men travel to Pullman Park in Butler to host a series of contests with fellow USCAA member, Cincinnati-Clermont. On Saturday, the men will play a pair of seven-inning contests for a scheduled first pitch of 1 p.m.. Sunday brings a nine-inning game scheduled for a 12 p.m. first pitch.
