ERIE, Pa. – No. 2 Penn State Behrend and No. 7 Pitt-Bradford each took a game in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Quarterfinals on Saturday, forcing a single nine-inning game to finish the series on Monday at 1 p.m. The Lions won the opener 6-0 and fell 5-4 in the nightcap.
Noteworthy:
* Junior Thomas Zbezinski (Gibsonia, PA/Pine-Richland) threw his first collegiate no-hitter, becoming the fifth pitcher in program history to accomplish this feat
* The last time Behrend had a no-hitter was in 2018 by Jack Herzing
* A total of 13 batters combined in both games were hit by a pitch
Game One:
Score: Penn State Behrend 6, Pitt-Bradford 3
Records: Penn State Behrend (20-9), Pitt-Bradford (5-14)
Key Moments:
* Zbezinski struck out nine along the way to the no-hitter to improve to 5-1 on the mound
* Josh Wagner (South Park, PA/South Park) smacked a three-run double in the bottom of the fourth to break open the game for the Lions
* Behrend got two across the plate in the third inning, one on a hit by pitch with bases loaded and the other on a passed ball for the early 2-0 lead
* In the fourth, Wagner hit a bomb down left-field line to score three and make it 5-0
* The Lions added the final run in the fifth on a Braden Paulinellie (DuBois, PA/DuBois) ground out with bases loaded to send home Isaac Stouffer (Punxsutawney, PA / Punxsutawney)
* Anthony Slate (Hopewell, PA/Hopewell) led with a pair of hits and two runs
* The shutout is the team's sixth of the season
Game Two:
Score: Pitt-Bradford 5, Penn State Behrend 4
Records: Penn State Behrend (20-10), Pitt-Bradford (6-14)
Key Moments:
* Pitt-Bradford took the lead first and ended with the lead in game two
* The Panthers scored the game-winning run in the top of the ninth with two-out single by Nico Hall to score Evan Fragela
* Behrend sandwiched four runs in between the Panthers five, taking a quick lead in the seventh
* Down 3-0 after the second, the Lions got on the board with a two-out RBI single by Wagner to score Jacob Deitz (Erie, PA/McDowell)
* Deitz was instrumental in the runs scored in the fifth, leading off with a strikeout but advancing two bases on a wild pitch
* Zack Bowen (Pittsburgh, PA/Serra Catholic) then tripled to center field to score Deitz and came home on a sacrifice fly by Paulinellie to tie the game at 3-all
* Behrend grabbed a 4-3 in the seventh with back-to-back doubles, one by Paulinellie and the other by Slate
* Pitt-Bradford got the game even once again with a run in the eighth before getting the final run in the ninth
Up Next:
* Behrend returns to action on Monday for the final game against Pitt-Bradford. Winner advances to the AMCC Semifinals on Thursday. Game time for the single-nine inning game is 1 p.m.