Big Innings Lead to NCAC Split

Apr 28, 2007

Game 1 Box | Game 2 Box
Photogallery

MEADVILLE, Pa. – A pair of seven-run innings, one each from Allegheny and Kenyon, led their respective teams to comeback wins in this crucial North Coast Athletic Conference series. Allegheny’s seven-run sixth inning provided more than enough firepower to overcome a 2-1 deficit in an 8-2 Allegheny win, while the Lords’ seven-run inning came in the top of the seventh inning, turned around a 3-2 deficit, helping the Lords to a split with a 9-4 victory.

The opener, which was delayed prior to the game due to rain, started as a pitcher’s duel, with Allegheny’s Colt Viehdorfer (Morrisdale, Pa./West Branch) facing off against Kenyon’s Geoff Bollier. Veihdorfer cracked first, giving up a run in the top of the fourth inning, before the Gators (12-19, 8-6 NCAC) countered when Pete Obourn (Farmington, N.Y./Victor) hit into a fielder’s choice, scoring Alex Herrnberger (Eighty Four, Pa./Canon McMillan), knotting the game at one run apiece.

After a scoreless fifth inning, Kenyon added a run in the top of the sixth, before the Gator bats awoke, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. James Fago (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport) started the inning with a double down the left field line. Herrnberger followed with a bunt single, beating out the throw on a sacrifice attempt, putting runners on the corners. Beckett, the next batter, reached on a fielder’s choice, scoring Tony Wilbur (Erie, Pa./NWPA Academy), pinch-running for Fago with Herrnberger reaching second when the Lord second baseman muffed the catch, keeping runners on first and second with no outs. Obourn followed in the shoes of Herrnberger, beating out a sacrifice bunt attempt, loading the bases.

Mike Pereslucha (Pittsburgh, Pa./Kiski) walked, bringing in Herrnberger, before Jimmy Fernandez (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) hit into a fielder’s choice, with the second baseman’s throw home for a force out sailed high, allowing Obourn and Steve Beckett (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) to score, giving the Gators a 5-2 lead. Brian Schmidt (Utica, Pa./Franklin) singled, scoring Fernandez and Pereslucha. Eric Rich (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township) rounded out the scoring, when he crossed the plate on a while pitch, giving the Gators an 8-2 lead. Viehdorfer retired three-of-four batters faced in the seventh inning, closing the door on a six-run Allegheny win.

Fago and Herrnberger were each 2-for-3 on the day, with the pair picking up four of the team’s 11 hits in the contest. Herrnberger was the only Gator to score twice, with the other six runs coming from six different players. Viehdorfer improved his record to 3-4 in 2007, pitching the entire seven innings, striking out five and walking three, giving up a solitary earned run.

Kenyon’s Chris Yorlano was 3-for-3 in the loss, as the second baseman picked up half of the team’s hits in the loss. Bollier pitched 5.2 innings on the day, giving up four earned runs, striking out one and walking two. Alex Kerr pitched the final out for the Lords, giving up the wild pitch that scored the final Allegheny run.

The second game started similarly to the first, with neither team finding the scoreboard until the third inning, when the Lords scored two runs, giving the visitors a brief lead. The Blue and Gold countered with three runs coming when Rich hit a two-run single, scoring Pereslucha and Zach Skowvron (Georgetown, Pa./South Side Beaver), knotting the game at two runs apiece, before the Gators took the lead when Herrnberger singled to left field, scoring Rich.

The next three innings came and went without a run scored, until Kenyon erupted in the seventh inning, scoring seven runs, the first six coming before an out was recorded with the seventh coming on a sacrifice fly, the first out of the inning. Looking to rebound and rally, the Gators squeezed one run across the plate when Fago hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Schmidt, but were held scoreless after that, sending Kenyon to their hotel with a 9-4 win.

Kenyon’s Dan Shelley pitched a gem, scattering three hits and striking out five, while also walking five and hitting two batters, evening his season record to 2-2. Each of Allegheny’s three hits and four runs came from different batters, with Rich leading the way with two runs batted in. Justin Abbott (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton-La Salle) picked up the loss, pitching the final out of the sixth inning before facing four batters in the seventh without recording an out, dropping his record to 0-2 this year. Obourn started the game for the Gators, pitching 5.2 innings, striking out two and scattering five hits, while allowing five walks and two hit batsmen.

Tom Hardacker went 2-for-3 in the win, while Scott Hanrahan was 2-for-4, including a bases-clearing triple.

The teams face off at Robertson Field on Sunday starting at noon, with the Gators needing a split to secure their spot in the NCAC postseason tournament, and the Lords needing a sweep to keep their playoff hopes alive.

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