Allegheny Baseball Splits With Kenyon

Apr 15, 2006

Game 1 Boxscore
Game 2 Boxscore

GAMBIER, Ohio – The Allegheny College Gators remained in a tie for the second seed of the NCAC East after splitting a second-day series to the Kenyon College Lords by scores of 10-3 and 6-15.

The Gators opened the two-game series with a run in the first inning, when Dirk Bonessa (Pittsburgh/Shady Side) hit a sacrifice fly, scoring leadoff hitter Eric Rich (McMurray/Peters Township), giving the Blue and Gold a 1-0 lead.

The hosts knotted the game in their half of the first inning, when a sacrifice fly scored Brendan Holsberry. The Gators knocked starter Justin Cox out of the game in the second inning, as the Blue and Gold loaded the bases with no outs. A Brian Schmidt (Utica/Franklin) single scored Dan Ayer (Pittsburgh/Mt. Lebanon), before Rich doubled in Nick Napiecek (West Chester/West Chester East) and Zack Oblak (Harrison City/Penn-Trafford), giving Allegheny a 4-1 lead.

A Jimmy Fernandez (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) scored Schmidt, before Bonessa knocked in his second run of the game with a single, scoring Ayer, pushing the advantage to 6-1. Allegheny equaled their run total from the first game, seven, when Pete Obourn (Farmington, N.Y./Victor) singled, driving in Bonessa, and giving starting pitcher Drew Scibetta (Glenshaw/Shaler Area), the NCAA strikeout ratio leader, a six-run cushion after two innings.

Scibetta responded by recording his next 2 outs via strikeout, holding the hot bats of the Lords scoreless until Kenyon pushed a run across with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

The Gators’ third sacrifice fly of the game scored Napiecek, as Rich hit a deep fly ball to center field in the third inning, giving the visitors an 8-1 before the Gators tacked on a run in the top of the fourth inning, when Bonessa scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Obourn, taking the Allegheny advantage to 9-1.

A Matt Young (State College) home run in the sixth inning provided the final runs for the Gators, as Kenyon pushed two runs across in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the nine-run advantage was too much to overcome in the 10-3 Allegheny win.

Bonessa, Young and Schmidt were each 2-for-3 at the plate, as Rich drove in a trio. Scibetta struck out just two in the game, but forced the Lords into 10 first-pitch outs, evening his record at 4-4 on the season while walking one.

In the second game, the Gators reached the scoreboard first, when Fernandez scored on a fielding error by the shortstop, before tacking on a second run in the second inning, as Rich doubled, scoring Schmidt, who reached base via a two-out single.

Kenyon responded in a big way, scoring seven runs, only three of which were earned, jumping ahead of the Gators 7-2 after a pair of innings.

The Blue and Gold started to climb back, as Schmidt, in just his third start of the season, singled through the right side, scoring Oblak, who led off the fourth inning with a double. Fernandez then grounded into a 6-3 double play, scoring Napiecek, cutting the deficit to three at 7-4. With Schmidt on third and two outs, Bonessa singled to right field, making it a two-run game at 7-5.

The Lords turned their two-run lead into a five-run lead, scoring a trio of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, taking their advantage to 10-5.

Five more runs in the fifth inning put the score out of reach at 15-5, before the Blue and Gold added a run in the top of the sixth to finish the scoring, giving the game its 15-6 final score.

Schmidt and Young were 2-of-3 from the plate, while Rich was 2-for-5. Each of the team’s four runs batted in were driven in by four different batters, while Fernandez and Schmidt each scored twice.

Craig Misiewicz (Bethel Park) picked up the loss, pitching three innings and allowing five earned runs and striking out three.

The next game for the Blue and Gold is on Tuesday, April 18, as the team travels to Westminster for a nine-inning game against the Titans starting at 2:30 p.m.

Printable Version