TARENTUM, Pa. – In two five inning matchups, New Kensington hosted Penn State Fayette Friday and fell in both, 17-4 and 16-5. The losses drop New Kensington's rank to 0-14 in conference play and 0-16 overall.
Game 1
By the bottom of the second inning, Fayette had already earned an 8-0 advantage over New Kensington.
New Kensington gained one run in the following inning after AJ Collins (Penn Hills, Pa./Penn Hills) made it home off a Thomas Santiago Jr. (Jersey City, N.J./M.E.T.S. Charter) double. This now put it down by seven.
In the fourth inning, both teams saw more runs. Fayette added another two to its total, while New Kensington put up one. Facing two outs, Braden Tristani (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) singled to center field and stole second. After advancing to third off a Tim Morris (Plum, Pa./Plum) single, Tristani scored on a Fayette error. Heading into the final inning, Fayette was in charge, 10-2.
Fayette batted in the top of the fifth and totaled up seven more runs. The visitors were now up by 15 runs.
New Kensington had the bottom of the inning left to play. Reise Matson (Kittanning, Pa./Armstrong was up to bat first and singled. Santiago also singled which allowed Matson to head to second. Both players advanced off a ground out. Matson was soon able to score off a Fayette error that allowed Jared Busche (Pittsburgh, Pa./Gateway) to reach first. Santiago also scored off a Fayette error. Only gaining two runs, Fayette secured the 17-4 victory.
Santiago hit 2-of-3, including a double, and had one RBI.
Game 2
Within the first inning, Fayette had already secured a steady 8-0 lead. It also ran in one more in the second.
New Kensington saw its first run in the bottom of the second with a Max Oliveri (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) score off a Tristani double. Moving towards the third, Fayette was up 9-1.
Fayette widened the score's gap even more in the third with another three runs. However, New Kensington responded back with two of its own. Alex VanMeter (Fort Myers, Fla./Dunbar) walked and headed to second when Collins walked. Off a Matson single, VanMeter made it home, and Collins reached second. Collins scored the second run when Busche singled to center field. With two innings remaining in the contest, New Kensington was down, 12-3.
Zachary Kerr (Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell) gave New Kensington its fourth score of the game. After reaching first on a fielder's choice, Kerr advanced to third off a Collins double. Kerr was able to score off a Fayette error. Fayette was still leading 12-4.
Fayette used the final inning to run in four. This put it ahead 16-4 with three outs in between New Kensington and a comeback.
After New Kensington's first out, Mario Gomez (Hasbrouck Heights, N.J./Hasbrouck Heights) singled. He quickly made it to third off a Tristani double to left field. Courtesy of a Morris single, Gomez scored. New Kensington saw back-to-back outs after Gomez's run and dropped the contest, 16-5.
Tristani went 2-for-3, both of which were doubles, and had an RBI. Gomez hit 2-of-2.
New Kensington will compete again with Penn State Fayette on Saturday, Apr. 17 in a set of two games. First pitches begin at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Written by Janet Surma
