Beaver opens PSUAC schedule with split
March 26, 2011
By Bert DeSalvo, Staff Writer
Mont Alto, PA - The Penn State Beaver baseball team earned a split with Penn State Mont Alto to pick up their first win of the season. Beaver won the first game, 8-3, but lost the second, 5-4
In game one, Beaver scored in the first inning as Tom Lewis (Hopewell High School/Aliquippa, PA) singled and eventually scored on a Ron Wilkins (South Side Beaver High School/Hookstown, PA) RBI fielder's choice to make the score 1-0.
Beaver added four more runs in the second inning. Alex Filippi (Center High School/Monaca, PA) and Garrett Covalt (Hopewell High School/Aliquippa, PA) both reached on errors. Cory Wagner (Center High School/Monaca, PA) drove a 3-run homer over the fence to give Beaver a sizable lead. Beaver scored yet another run due to Mont Alto's defensive woes, bringing the score to 5-0.
Mont Alto scored two runs in the fourth, but Beaver responded in the fifth by tacking on three more runs on Covalt, Filippi, and Andy DiPietrantonio (Beaver High School/Beaver, PA) RBIs. Mont Alto had three consecutive singles to lead off the seventh inning, but Beaver buckled down defensively and converted a game-ending 6-4-3 double play to give Beaver its first win of the season.
In the win, Wilkins pitched six innings, struck out six batters, walked three, and allowed only three hits and just two earned runs.
In the second game, Mont Alto led the game off with back-to-back doubles off of Beaver's Zach Davis (Hampton High School/Allison Park, PA) to give them a 1-0 advantage. However, Beaver scored three runs in the second inning on a Zack Del Turco (Monaca High School/Monaca, PA) double. Two consecutive hit batters loaded the bases, and then a walk and another hit batter gave Beaver a 2-1 lead. DiPeitrantonio drove in another run on a fielder's choice to give Beaver a 3-1 lead.
The game remained tied until the fifth inning when Beaver recorded the first two outs of the inning in order, then an error translated into three runs for Mont Alto. However, Beaver responded to tie the game at 4-4 as Wagner hit a clutch two-out RBI single to score Adam Falkowski (Blackhawk High School/Beaver Falls, PA) who led the inning off by being hit by a pitch.
In the seventh inning, Mont Alto led off with a single. A sacrifice attempt on a throwing error by Davis resulted in the game-winning run at reaching third base. A wild pitch then plated the game-winning run for Mont Alto.
With the split, Beaver recorded its first win of the year (1-10 overall, 1-1 PSUAC) and a .500 mark in conference play.
Beaver resumes PSUAC play tomorrow as it opens its home conference schedule with Penn State York at 2 p.m.