The Albright College baseball team kept its playoff hopes alive with an impressive sweep of Alvernia on Saturday at Kelchner Field.
The Lions racked up five runs and four hits in the sixth inning of game one against 2013 All-American pitchers Mike Weinhold and Kevin Becker-Menditto, opening up a 5-2 lead and holding on for the 5-4 decision.
Gabe Santone and Dylan Boll singled, with Collin Hecker walking to load the bases and Max Dundore walking home pinch runner Nathan Fretz. Becker-Menditto came in, but Evan High singled in Boll and Nate Peiffer's sacrifice fly put the Lions in the lead.
Junior John Medvecky was 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Dundore and High each went 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored.
Alvernia's Matt Patterson ripped a shot off a tree behind the left field fence in the top of the second inning to open the scoring.
Starter Alex Myers recovered well on the mound, setting the Crusaders down 1-2-3 in the third and fourth innings and retiring eight straight batters at one point.
Consecutive Lion errors and a sacrifice bunt brought Alvernia's Chris Burns to third base in the top of the fifth; Joe Iacobellis singled him in for a 2-0 lead.
Alvernia threatened in the seventh, but freshman Trevor Mastria held on for the save. The Crusaders cut it to 5-4 and had a runner going home on Patterson's grounder, but Mastria was able to make the play at first to end the game.
Albright freshman Daniel Louviaux then shut down the Crusaders in a 3-0 game two victory. The rookie struck out four and scattered five hits in seven outstanding innings.
Offensively, High was 2-for-3 with both an RBI and a run scored. Boll went 2-for-3 and knocked in one run.
Boll singled in Peiffer to open the scoring in the third inning. High launched a fourth inning homer that also scored Dundore, giving the Red and White a 3-0 advantage.
With the win, Albright (10-14, 8-10) moves to within a game of Lebanon Valley for the final Commonwealth playoff spot. With LVC holding the head-to-head tiebreaker, the Lions must make up two games in the final weekend as they take on Stevenson (and the Dutchmen face Elizabethtown).