TARENTUM, Pa - New Kensington baseball dropped both games of their doubleheader against Community College of Allegheny County Thursday afternoon to fall to 4-14 on the season.
The men came out of the gate strong in game one. They allowed CCAC three runs in the third, responding with one of their own. New Kensington had a powerful fourth when they put up five runs to tie the game and put themselves in a winning position. CCAC ran across for the go-ahead run in the sixth to finish with the 7-6 win.
New Kensington slowed down in game two giving up four runs in the first, one in the third, three in the fourth, and 10 in the sixth. The men only produced one run for the game, coming in the fifth inning. CCAC finished on top 18-1.
Game 1
Senior Reise Matson (Kittanning, Pa. / Armstrong) got the start for New Kensington. He threw two innings, walking two and striking out two. He was replaced by Ethan Brunson (Webberville, Mich. / Webberville) who threw 0.1 innings and gave up three runs on one hit, walking four and striking out one. Alex VanMeter (Fort Myers, Fla. / Dunbar) entered the game, throwing 1.2 innings and allowing three runs on three hits, including one home run. Sophomore Tim Morris (Plum, Pa. / Plum) took over the mound and threw two innings. He was charged with one run on one hit, including a home run, walking one, and striking out one. Jake Wilson (Fort Myers, Fla. / Fort Myers) finished the game for New Kensington, allowing one hit.
CCAC began their scoring in the top of the third with bases loaded. Two batters were walked and a third was hit by a pitch to bring the first three runs across the plate. New Kensington came back in the bottom of the third on a Reise Matson double to drive in Max Oliveri (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Penn Hills).
A CCAC 3 RBI home run would extend their lead but New Kensington responded with a powerful bottom of the fourth. Tallon Auth (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Plum) homered to bring in Jake Wilson. Matson was walked to drive in Dale Egenlauf (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Brashear) followed by a Nick Osborne (Hermitage, Pa. / Hickory) sacrifice fly for Mario Gomez (Hasbrouck Heights, N.J. / Hasbrouck Heights) to run across. Max Oliveri would then score on an error to put the score at 6-6. A CCAC go-ahead homer in the top of the sixth would allow CCAC to finish with the 7-6 victory.
Game 2
Eric Sonntag (Philadelphia, Pa. / Hatboro-Horsham) took the mound for New Kensington, throwing two innings and giving up four runs on four hits, including a home run, and walking two. Remy Monteleone (Mars, Pa. / Mars) entered the game and threw one inning. The freshman was charged with one run on two hits. He was replaced by James Auberzinsky (Munhall, Pa. / Steel Valley) who threw one inning, allowing three runs on two hits, walking two, and striking out one. AJ Collins (Penn Hills, Pa. / Penn Hills) took over the mound throwing one inning. The sophomore gave up one hit, striking out one batter. Mario Gomez came into the game to throw 0.1 innings. Gomez gave up 10 runs on eight hits, walking one. Reise Matson finished the game for New Kensington throwing 0.2 innings and allowing one hit while striking out one.
CCAC scored their runs on errors, walks, and home runs. They repeated this until the bottom of the fifth when Luis Osorio (Bethlehem, Pa. / Freedom) singled to left field to advance Gomez to second while driving in Jared Busche (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Gateway), New Kensington trailing 8-1. CCAC would go on to score 10 more runs in the final inning of play. They would finish with the 18-1 win.
"Runner is on second base, you know, you try to hit the ball the other way," said AJ Collins. "Just try and get that guy over but when balls stay up and things like that, that's just baseball. Sometimes they fall, sometimes they don't. That's why baseball is a game of failure."
New Kensington will resume conference action this weekend when they face off in a three-game series against Penn State Greater Allegheny. The first game is set for Saturday at 12 p.m.
Written by Matt Heavner, PSNK Athletics Communications Intern
