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May 16, 2008
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Gators Clinch NCAC Playoff Spot Apr 29, 2007
Allegheny (13-20, 9-7 NCAC East) fell behind early against Kenyon (16-15, 4-7 NCAC East) as the visitors scored twice in the second inning on back-to-back run-scoring singles by Zach Ciccone and Scott Hanrahan. That deficit didn’t last too long, however, with the Blue & Gold bats erupting in the bottom of the third inning. The Gators sent a dozen players to the batter’s box in the frame, plating each of the first four on a first-pitch grand slam by James Fago (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport), left. Three more runs also came around on an RBI double by reigning National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division III Hitter of the Week Jimmy Fernandez (Niagara Falls, N.Y./New Hartford) and a two-run single by Brian Schmidt (Utica, Pa./Franklin).
Allegheny answered five times in the bottom of the sixth inning to retake the lead 12-8. Fernandez earned another base knock and RBI, while Pete Obourn (Farmington, N.Y./Victor) slammed his third home run of the season around the left field foul pole, plating a pair.
The Gators fell behind early in the nightcap and stayed there, despite hitting a season-high four home runs. The Lords scored in each of the first four innings to take an 8-5 lead and jumped ahead 11-6 with three more runs in the sixth inning. Allegheny, which received another homer from Fago as well as Steve Beckett’s (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum), left, first and Pereslucha’s fourth of the year, kept things interesting with another pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, both coming as a result of Zach Skowvron’s (Georgetown, Pa./South Side Beaver), right, first career home run. The Gators continued to threaten in their last turn at bat, putting a pair of runners on with one out, but a fly out and strikeout ended the comeback bid.
The Gators will get NCAC West champion Ohio Wesleyan University in the semifinals of the conference tournament next weekend. The opening pair of games is slated for Saturday, May 5, in Delaware, Ohio. But first, Allegheny must close out its regular season schedule by entertaining Case Western Reserve University on Wednesday, May 2, at noon.
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MEADVILLE, Pa. – After starting 0-13, a potential spot in the 2007 North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament seemed out of the question for the Allegheny College baseball team, but the Gators turned their season around by winning 13 of their final 20 contests, including a playoff-clinching victory today against Kenyon College at Robertson Field. The Gators took the opener 12-8 to finish second in the NCAC East Division and earn a spot in the four-team conference tournament, before dropping an 11-8 decision in the nightcap.
The Lords were far from done offensively in the opener, adding three more runs in the fourth on a home run shot by Blaise Milburn, and then tacking on another trifecta of runs in the sixth inning, highlighted by a two-run double by Milburn to take an 8-7 lead.
Justin Abbott (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton-La Salle) picked up the win in relief of Mike Pereslucha (Pittsburgh, Pa./Kiski), right in the field during the second game, who tossed 6.1 innings and surrendered eight runs with four strikeouts. Abbott improved his season record to 1-2 by throwing the final 1.2 and also picked up his first career RBI on a groundout in the sixth inning.
The Blue & Gold pounded out nine extra-base hits on the day led by Fago’s pair of longballs. He finished 2-for-6 overall with six RBI and two runs scored. Alex Herrnberger (Eighty Four, Pa./Canon McMillan) was Allegheny’s most consistent hitter at the dish, going 2-for-4 in both games with two runs scored, two RBI, and his first career triple. Beckett also picked up hits in both ends of the doubleheader, combining to go 3-for-8 with three RBI.
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