Behrend Baseball Season Ends at NCAA Regional Tournament
The
Penn State Behrend Lions dropped a tough 8-5 game against Penn State Berks
in the NCAA Tournament Mid-Atlantic Regional on Thursday, May 14 to finish
the season at 31-13. The AMCC champions advanced to the NCAA
Tournament for the second time ever after capturing their second straight
league championship.
Against Penn State Berks, Behrend was constantly threatening to post a big
inning with runners all over the base paths, but was never able to break out
for that big inning. The blue and white had 13 hits in the game and
left 17 runners on base.
Behrend got a run in the top of the first inning, but Berks responded with
three runs of its own in the bottom of the first, and one in the second to
take a 4-1 lead into the third inning.
Eddie Kessler (Bethel Park/Bethel Park) led off the third inning with a
double and was singled home by Josh Fyffe (Fredonia/Sharpsville) cutting the
Berks lead to 4-2. In the fourth Behrend loaded the bases before
Fyffe's sacrifice fly scored Ryan Geibel (East Butler/Butler) getting
Behrend to within a run at 4-3. Berks again responded scoring three
runs in the bottom of the fourth, two off a home run to create distance at
7-3. Behrend made it 7-4 when Geibel's sacrifice fly scored Ryan
Liddle (DuBois/DuBois), but Berks was able to get out of the inning
stranding two Behrend base runners.
Berks posted a run in the sixth and then got Behrend to strand six runners
on base in the final three innings. The Behrend Lions pushed one
across in the ninth but the rally ended with a lineout and Behrend was eliminated 8-5.
Fyffe was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, Geoff Lang (Pittsburgh/North Allegheny)
was 3-for-5 with two stolen bases, and Geibel was 1-for-2 with a walk, one
RBI, and one run scored.