St. Scholastica Defeats Lions, 7-2

FORT PIERCE, Fl. – The Penn State Behrend baseball team fell to St. Scholastica 7-2 in the final game of their 2014 spring break trip.

In a matchup of two 2013 NCAA Tournament clubs, the Saints (7-4) got on the board first with a Jordan Risse RBI single. Trevor Bernsdorf followed with a run scoring groundout, and it was 2-0 St. Scholastica after four.

The bottom of the sixth saw the Saints break the game open on a two run single by Bernsdorf and an RBI hit by Trevor Bernsdorf. St. Scholastica capped off the sixth inning scoring following a passed ball that made the margin 6-0.

The Lions (6-4) struck back by way of a pair of unearned runs in the top of the eighth. Alex Margraf (Erie, PA/McDowell) reached on an error, scoring Ryan Finnegan (Fombell, PA/Riverside). Zackery Erb (North East, PA/North East) then drilled an RBI single to center, scoring John Hlavinka (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) to bring the Lions within four.

That, however, would be as close as Behrend would get. The Saints added an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth and went on to the 7-2 victory.

Finnegan finished 2-for-4 with a double for the Lions, and Erb earned the RBI hit in his only at bat of the contest.

Chad Zurat (Clearfield, PA/Clearfield) took the loss for Behrend, allowing five earned in 5.1 innings, striking out six. Tylor Williams (Atlantic, PA/Conneaut Lake) pitched two innings of relief, not allowing an earned run in the process.

In all, it was a successful southern swing for the Lions. Behrend went 6-2 during their Florida trip, a span that included a five-game winning streak.

The Lions will travel to take on Waynesburg for a doubleheader on Saturday, March 22 at 1 and 4 p.m.