MEADVILLE, Pa. -- A five-run fourth inning propelled the Allegheny College baseball team to an 8-3 victory over visiting Penn State Behrend on Thursday afternoon at Robert M. Garbark '32 Field.

Temperatures were more than 20 degrees warmer than the freezing weather that postponed Wednesday's matchup against Baldwin Wallace University, and the Gators (9-8) took advantage of the beautiful conditions to down the Lions (8-6). Backed by a strong performance on the mound, the difference maker for Allegheny was a fourth inning that saw the Gators break a scoreless stalemate with a quintet of two-out runs.

Tyler Skaggs (Champion Heights, Ohio/Champion), Alejandro Samayoa (Katonah, N.Y./John Jay Cross River), and JD Robinson (Round Hill, Va./Woodgrove) each received a free pass with two walks and a hit-by-pitch to load the bases in the fourth. Facing a 3-2 count, first-year shortstop Garrett Lienhard (Jim Thorpe, Pa./Jim Thorpe) roped a bases-clearing double just beyond the Lions' diving left fielder. All three runners scored with ease, as Allegheny took a lead it would never relinquish. With the bases once again loaded, Matt Jennings (Birmingham, Mich./Brother Rice) legged out an infield single that drove in two more runs, extending the lead to 5-0.

Both sides put matching numbers on the scoreboard in the sixth and seventh innings, with two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh.

Starting pitcher Dawson Thomas (Espyville, Pa./Conneaut Area) put together a quality start for the Blue and Gold in his first win of the season. He scattered three runs and eight hits across 6.2 innings before giving way to Mitchell Swineford (Duncansville, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) and Cole Litman (Youngstown, Ohio/Cardinal Mooney), who shut down Penn State Behrend out of the bullpen. 

Inside the Box Score

• Both teams posted 10 hits, but Allegheny had extra baserunners thanks to seven walks and three hit batters from the Penn State Behrend pitching staff.
• Four Gators finished with multiple hits, and three drove in multiple runs.
• Lienhard was 2-for-3 with two doubles and a game-high three RBIs.
• Nick Banez (Edmonds, Wash./Meadowdale) was 2-for-3 with two runs scored out of the nine-hole.
• Jennings and Tyson Bryant-Dawson (Oakland, Calif./Manvel (Texas)) combined for four RBIs at the top of the lineup.
• Thomas struck out two with only one walk in 6.2 innings en route to the win.
• Swineford and Litman combined for 2.1 scoreless innings in relief.
• Penn State Behrend lefty Colin Bolla took the loss despite a game-high five strikeouts.
• Bolla allowed five runs on four hits with four walks and two hit-by-pitches in just 4.0 innings.

News and Notes

• The Gators climbed above .500 with a 9-8 overall record.
• Allegheny has won four in a row and 10 of its last 11 matchups against Penn State Behrend.
• Thomas' start against the Lions was his longest outing of the season and his first win of 2025.
• Lienhard plated a season-high three RBIs in his sixth multi-hit game as a Gator.

Up Next
Allegheny will visit Chatham University for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader on Saturday, March 29, beginning at 1:00 p.m.