Beaver gains momentum heading into important weekend tilts
Bert DeSalvo, Staff Writer
April 14, 2011
Penn State Beaver used solid defense, timely hitting and two admirable pitching performances to oust PSUAC rival Penn State Fayette, 6-4 and 12-2, respectively, in a doubleheader affair at Beaver Field.
In game one, Beaver got off to a shaky start as the first four batters of the game reached off of starting pitch Ronnie Wilkins (South Side Beaver/Hookstown), who surrendered a grand slam to Fayette's Sam Beucher (Connellsville/Connellsville, PA), who gave Fayette an early 4-0 advantage after the 1st inning.
However, Beaver responded immediately for their senior captain as they answered with four of their own. Sophomore Alex Filippi (Center/Monaca, PA) led the inning off with a double down the left field line. After Adam Falkowski was hit by a pitch, Filippi stole third to put runners on the corners with no outs. Freshman Zack DelTurco (Monaca/Monaca, PA) drilled an RBI double to score Beaver's first run of the game. Next, Corey Wagner (Center/Monaca, PA) followed with a sac fly RBI to cut the Fayette lead in half at 4-2. Then with two-outs, Garret Covalt (Hopewell/Aliquippa, PA) hit a double that scored DelTurco and after two walks were issued by Fayette pitching, Andy DiPeitrantonio (Beaver/Beaver, PA) earned a bases loaded walk to tie the game at 4-4 after one inning.
In the 3rd inning, Covalt hit a leadoff double to right center and catcher Jim Musgrave (Ambridge/Ambridge, PA) moved him to third base. Covalt later scored on a wild pitch with two outs in the inning, to give Beaver a 5-4 lead.
Wilkins continued to settle down and keep the Fayette bats at bay. The Beaver lineup provided an important insurance run in their half of the 6th inning as Marcus Allen (Union/New Castle, PA) led the inning off with a triple and DiPeitrantonio squeezed him in on a bunt attempt.
Wilkins pitched a strong 7th inning for the complete game victory. In the win, Wilkins struck out six and picked off two runners. Wilkins allowed four runs on just three hits, despite walking 10 Fayette batters.
Filippi, Falkowski and Covalt (2) each had doubles, while DiPeitrantonio had two RBI's.
In game two, Beaver pounded Fayette pitching by scoring 12 runs on 15 hits. Beaver scored three run in the 1st inning, as Falkowski, DelTurco and Covalt each had RBI's. Athough Fayette scored a run in the 2nd inning and 4th innings, Beaver responded with runs in the 3rd and 4th innings as well.
Allen drove in two on a single in the 3rd inning and Covalt drilled a bases clearing triple to left field in the 4th inning to make the score 8-2 in favor of Beaver.
Superb defense ended a Fayette rally in the 5th inning as Beaver completed a 8-6-5 putout for the final out of the inning.
Beaver used the mercy rule to its advantage by scoring four runs in their half of the inning to end the game with a 12-2 win. In the 5th inning, Filippi, Wagner, and Tom Lewis (Hopewell/Aliquippa, PA) each had an RBI single. In addition, Covalt had a walk-off RBI single that sealed the win for Beaver.
On the mound, freshman Zach Davis (Hampton/Allison Park, PA) pitched solid game, allowing just one earned run on five hits in the complete game victory. Davis also struck out one Fayette batter.
Offensively, Filippi and Covalt each had three hits, while Falkowski, Wagner and Allen each had two base knocks.
With the win, Beaver improves to 8-12 overall and 8-2 in PSUAC play as they head east for important conference twinbills against Penn State Brandywine and Penn State Wilkes-Barre.