Baseball Looks to Stay Hot in Battle of PSUAC Top

McKeesport, PA. – After sweeping their Penn State University Athletic Conference opening series, the Penn State Greater Allegheny Baseball team (8-5, 3-0) goes on the road to take on conference rival Penn State DuBois (11-6, 3-0) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. It is a battle of the top two teams in the PSUAC West Division with both teams entering the weekend unbeaten in conference play and looking to lay claim to the top spot in the division.

PSUGA wrapped up their series with PSU-Fayette on Sunday with a doubleheader sweep picking up wins of 6-4 and 7-4. It was a big week for the offense as the middle of the order proved the catalyst that got things started. After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first in game one, PSUGA would put up single runs in both the first and third to take a 2-1 lead.

They would take the game scoring three in the bottom of the fourth on three straight RBI singles by Brett Yuhas (Munhall, PA./Steel Valley HS), Brian Koglin (Fox Chapel, PA./Fox Chapel HS), and Diego Marzan (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico/Leadership Christian Academy) that pushed the lead to 5-1. Fayette answered with three in the top of the fifth before Jordan Williams (McKeesport, PA./McKeesport HS) came in to shut things down earning his first save of the season.

Game two saw PSUGA jump out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Williams singled and went on to steal three straight bases, including home, to get his team on the board. Fayette would answer with one in the second and two in the third to get ahead 3-2 over PSUGA. PSUGA would respond with three in the bottom of the third, including a two-run home run by Yuhas, that put them ahead 5-3 a lead they would hold on to for the rest of the game.

It was a big weekend for Yuhas who went 4-6 with a home run and four RBI in the final two games against PSU-Fayette while Dylan Ernst added a 2-3 day in game one with one RBI. Williams saved both halves of the doubleheader throwing three shutout innings while striking out three and walking two on just two hits.

PSUGA now sits at 3-0 in conference play and are hitting the ball very well to start the season. They have three different hitters who are hitting .400 or better with senior Dylan Ernst (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport HS) leading the team with a .486 average through 12 games. Head coach Kenny Creehan has been pleased with his performance so far and wants them to continue to grow as the season goes on.

PSU-DuBois also found success on their opening weekend sweeping Penn State New Kensington in three games. They scored a combined 44 points in three games while allowing just six runs in four contests. They were led by reigning PSUAC Player of the Week Isaac Stouffer who hit .700 in the series with two home runs and eight RBI leading his team to victory.

Last season, it was PSU-DuBois who took the series winning two of the three contests against PSUGA. In eight previous match-ups, it has been DuBois who has been the victor winning seven of the eight games in those two seasons.

First pitch for Friday’s game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The game will be played at Showers Field located just off the campus of PSU-DuBois.