Two-Game Sweep over Hazleton Snaps Losing Streak for GA Baseball

Hazleton, Pa. - The Penn State Greater Allegheny men's baseball team snapped a five-game losing streak, Saturday afternoon, as the men took a 15-7 and 17-6 double-header sweep over Penn State University Athletic Conference foe, Penn State Hazleton.

The top of the first in game on started off with a junior second baseman Adam Jacko (North Versailles, Pa./East Allegheny) single to left field before he stole second.

The second inning kicked off with a junior outfielder Mark Hollis (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) double before he stole third base. With sophomore outfielder Sam Ligeros (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) reaching first on an error, he batted home Hollis for the unearned run, 1-0 GA.

Top three brought yet another Jacko single before advancing to second on a passed ball. Junior shortstop Brandon Koglin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) walked to first as freshman third baseman Dylan Finocchi (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) singled to score Jacko, 2-0. Junior catcher Francisco Del Rio (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy) singled to left field, scoring Koglin. Freshman pinch runner Max Whiteman (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) then came in to run for Del Rio. Following a Hollis walk, sophomore designated hitter Luke Padezan (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) singled to center field to bat home both Finocchi and Whiteman, 5-0.

Ligeros singled to left field before he stole second. Jacko singled to the shortstop to bat home Padezan and nail the 6th run in the game.

Hazleton managed four runs on two hits in the bottom of the inning to cut the GA lead to 6-4.

Finocchi doubled in the top of the fourth inning before Hollis walked to get on base. The fifth brought a freshman designated hitter Cody Calfo (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) and Jacko walk. Koglin also connected on a double to left field, but after an intentional walk, Hazleton was back up to bat in game one.

With a homer, the home team tied the game at six.

Top six began with a Hollis wallk before Padezan reached first on an error. Freshman first baseman Jordan Graziano (Pittsburgh, Pa./Carrick) doubled to right field as senior desginated hitter John Nusser (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brashear) singled to bat home both Graziano and Padezan, 8-6. Junior pinch runner Alex Riley (Pittsburgh, Pa./John Marshall) came in for Nusser before he stole second. Jacko singled to center-field before both he and Riley advance on a balk, scoring Riley, 9-6 GA. 

Koglin walked as Jacko scored unearned. With a Finocchi single to left field, Koglin crossed home plate. Sophomore pinch runner Dan Daly (Glassport, Pa./South Allegheny) ran for Finocchi as a Del Rio doubled scored Daly, 12-6 Lions.

A new pitcher for Hazleton brought a great inning for Greater Allegheny baseball. Padezan walked to first base as Graziano followed him with a single to left field. Ligeros walked to fill the bases as Riley walked to push home Padezan.

Another pitching change kicked off with a wild pitch, scoring Graziano. Koglin reached on a fielder's choice but was just enough to push Ligeros to score, notching the 15th and final run for Greater Allegheny in game one.

A homer in the bottom of the seventh advanced Hazleton to 15--7.

Freshman right-handed pitcher Marcos Lopez (Gurabo, Puerto Rico/Ramey High) pitched a seven-inning complete game for his second career win on the bump. The righty sat down five of his 29 batters down on strike-out.

Jacko managed to connect on 4-of-4 from the plate with two runs scored and one RBI as Finocchi hit 3-of-4 with one run and one RBI of his own. Del Rio and Graziano both hit 2-of-5 in game one as the Lions racked up 16 hits at 34 at bats. 

Game two started quickly for Greater Allegheny as Jacko was hit-by-pitch. Koglin singled to left field as Finocchi walked to fill the bases. Del Rio reached on a fielder's choice to score Jacko. Whiteman came back in to run for Del Rio before he stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch, scoring Koglin. Hollis singled to center field to score Whiteman, 3-0 GA.

The top of the second brought a Ligeros and Lopez walk to the first two bases. Koglin singled to center field before Finocchi singled to left field, pushing Lopez and Ligeros to score. With a Hollis double to right field, Finocchi and Koglin both scored to give Greater Allegheny the 7-0 advantage just two innings into the second contest.

The bottom of the third saw three runs off of a double to put Hazleton on the board, 7-3.

Koglin doubled before Finocchi matched him with a double od his own. Koglin proceeded to score on a wild pitch before Finocchi was reigned home on a passed ball, 9-3. The bottom of the inning saw an unearned Hazleton run to lift their score another tally, 9-4.

Padezan walked in the sixth before Graziano and Ligeros both singled to right field, adding the tenth run for GA off of Padezan's foot.

With a Jacko and Finocchi walked and a Koglin single, the bases were loaded. Del Rio came up to bat to hammer a grand slam homer to score four runs, 14-4 GA. Feeding off the energy in the dugout, Hollis singled to left field before Calfo singled to center, scoring Hollis. Calfo scored an unearned run before Jacko doubled to left field. Koglin singled to left to score Lopez and add the Lions' 17th run of the second set of seven innings.

A triple in the bottom of the inning increased the Hazleton score another tally before the added their last on a fielder's choice, 17-6.

Ligeros earned the win on the bump after throwing four innings, facing 19 batters. Daly came up with his first save on the season with 14 batters faced in three innings. Daly sat down two of them on strike-outs.

Koglin connected on 5-of-6 in game two, while adding four runs and one RBI. Hollis ripped 4-of-5 with three runs batted in and one run scored himself. Finocchi hit 2-of-3 with two runs and two RBIs as Del Rio connected on 1-of-6 with five runs batted in and one run himself added.

Greater Allegheny (8-21, 6-11 PSUAC) looks to Sunday to play in their final Penn State University Athletic Conference double-header of the season against Penn State Worthington-Scranton. The double-header will see its first pitch at 12 p.m.