MEADVILLE, Pa. -- The Allegheny College baseball team held on for a 17-14 non-conference victory over the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford in a wild contest on Thursday afternoon at Robert M. Garbark Field.

Coming off a series sweep of Franciscan University, in which the Gators (10-5) scored a combined 27 runs, the bats were ready to once again knock the cover off the ball. Allegheny scored once in the first and twice in the second, but it exploded in the third inning.

The Gators batted around the order in the third and posted an eye-popping 11 runs in the frame. Those 11 runs were scored on only six hits, the biggest being a three-run home run from JD Robinson (Round Hill, Va./Woodgrove) that put Allegheny ahead 11-0. Robinson also doubled to lead off the third, while William Wolff (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast) and Ben Shields (Charleroi, Pa./Charleroi Area) drove in runs with back-to-back two-baggers that widened the gap to 14-0.

However, the comfortable lead that once appeared excessive proved to be necessary. Pitt-Bradford (7-13), which loaded the bases but could not score in the first and second innings, came to life in the fourth. Thanks to a seven-spot in the top of the fourth and a five-run top of the eighth, the Panthers came all the way back and cut the deficit to 15-14.

After a two-run double from Pitt-Bradford's Evan Fragela made it a one-run game with no outs in the eighth, William DeCicco III (Fairview Park, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) was called from the bullpen and was able to douse the flames. He stranded the bases loaded in the eighth, and after the Gators added two insurance runs in the home half, he returned to throw a 1-2-3 ninth and seal the victory.

Inside the Box Score

• Allegheny and Pitt-Bradford combined for 31 runs on 35 hits, 11 walks, and 11 hit-by-pitches.
• Nine different Gators recorded a hit, and five finished with multi-hit performances.
• Robinson hit 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs.
• Wolff was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a team-high five RBIs.
• Matt Jennings (Birmingham, Mich./Brother Rice) was tied for the team lead in hits (3) and runs scored (3) while driving in two runs.
• Allegheny's starting pitcher, Walker Cunningham (Cambridge Springs, Pa./Cambridge Springs), surrendered seven runs on 10 hits in 3.2 innings.
• The first of five relievers utilized was the lefty, Aidan Bilder (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin), who received the win after giving up just one run in 1.1 innings of work.
• DeCicco was credited with a save after holding the Panthers scoreless in the final 2.0 innings.
• Pitt-Bradford's Nico Hall was one of seven Panthers with multiple hits, including a solo homer at the top of the fourth.

News and Notes

• Thursday's meeting between Allegheny and Pitt-Bradford is the first in the series since May 1, 2013.
• Allegheny has won three consecutive games against the Panthers and has scored double-digit runs in all three victories.
• After homering just once in the first 11 games, the Gators have hit five long balls in the last four contests.
• Robinson's homer was his first as a Gator.
• Wolff more than doubled his season's RBI total with a career-high five runs driven in.
• Bilder earned his first collegiate win.
• DeCicco collected his first save in the longest outing of his career.

Up Next
Allegheny has less than 24 hours to bounce back as the Gators travel to Westminster College for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader on Friday, March 29, starting at 12:00 p.m.