McKeesport, Pa. – The Penn State Greater Allegheny Baseball Team (5-8, 2-1) split their Penn State University Athletic Conference Doubleheader with Penn State DuBois on Friday losing the first game 6-3 and winning the second game 5-4. After not being able to come through with the clutch hit in game 1, they rebounded and used timely hitting and a steady pitching attack to get the victory in game 2.
The first game of the doubleheader saw Luke Padezan (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) dominate on the mound through the first six innings. He gave up a lone run in the first inning and then cruised through the next five innings throwing up zeros. PSUGA gave him the lead with two runs in the bottom of the second to send PSUGA into the top of the seventh leading 2-1 with the chance for Padezan to earn the complete game victory.
However, he gave up the tying run in the top of the seventh before allowing four runs in the top of the 8th to give PSU-DuBois the victory. PSUGA started a rally in the bottom of the 8th, but they could only push one run across on an RBI single Josh Arroyo (Tao Alta, Puerto Rico/Levittown Baptist Academy) and fell 6-3.
Arroyo led the team going 2-3 with an RBI on the day while Brian Koglin (Fox Chapel, Pa./Fox Chapel) and Caleb Smith (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) went 1-2 and 1-3 respectively each driving in a run. The loss moved Padezan to 0-4 on the season as he continues to look for his elusive first win. He entered the season with an 11-10 lifetime record in a PSUGA uniform.
Game 2 brought Marcos Lopez (Caglas, Puerto Rico/Ramsey) to the mound for his first start of the season. It did not go as planned early on as he gave up four runs in the first inning. However, Lopez would settle down finishing his start putting up four straight zeros and keeping his team in the game.
After scoring two runs in the bottom of the second, PSUGA would tie the game with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to bring the score back to 4-4. PSUGA would take the lead in the bottom half of the sixth and left it up to David West (Hempfield, Pa./Hempfield) to get the final three outs.
After allowing a man to reach at second with one out, West got the final two outs and secured the victory for PSUGA. Dylan Ernst (McKeesport, PA./McKeesport) and Smith each went 2-3 to help lead the team. PSUGA now moves to 2-1 in conference play and is poised for another matchup with PSU-DuBois as they look to continue their PSUAC success.
The return to action on Monday going back to PSU-DuBois for a single game starting at 2 p.m. It is the first of six straight road games to start the month of April before they return home on April 14th for a doubleheader against Penn State Beaver.
