TARENTUM, Pa. - New Kensington baseball continued conference action Saturday afternoon and fell to Penn State Mont Alto in the first of a three-game series.

Penn State Mont Alto scored two runs in the first. New Kensington managed to respond with one run before Mont Alto added a third. New Kensington refused to back down, scoring again in the third. Mont Alto kept up their scoring through the fourth and fifth producing another six total runs to put the score at 8-2. New Kensington put up two runs in the final frame for Penn State Mont Alto to win 8-4.

Nick Osborne (Hermitage, Pa. / Hickory) made his fifth appearance on the mound for New Kensington and threw four innings. Osborne let up six runs on five hits, walking four batters and striking out two. He was replaced by sophomore AJ Collins (Penn Hills, Pa. / Penn Hills) throwing one inning and allowing two runs on three hits, walking one. Alex VanMeter (Fort Myers, Fla. / Dunbar) entered the game to throw two scoreless innings. The sophomore allowed one hit. Eric Sonntag (Philadelphia, Pa. / Hatboro-Horsham) finished the game for New Kensington throwing the final two innings scoreless and striking out one. Osborne is now 0-5 on the season.

A single to left field allowed Penn State Mont Alto two runs in the top of the first. For New Kensington, James Auberzinsky (Munhall, Pa. / Steel Valley) got on base in the bottom of the second, eventually stealing second before Reise Matson (Kittanning, Pa. / Armstrong) was walked. Jared Busche (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Gateway) was then walked to load the bases. Max Oliveri (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Penn Hills) was also walked to drive in New Kensington's first run.

A Mont Alto double to right-center would extend their lead by one. Back on offense, Oliveri drove in Busche on a sacrifice fly, bringing the game within one run. Mont Alto soon pulled away after an error and a single to shortstop put the score at 5-2. Mont Alto then managed a double to left field to bring another run across the plate. A 2 RBI triple earned the final two runs for Mont Alto to lead by six.

Dale Egenlauf (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Brashear) pinch ran for Reise Matson in the bottom of the ninth for New Kensington to have a runner on base. Egenlauf reached second on a passed ball before Zack Woolheater (Munhall, Pa. / Steel Valley) was walked to put runners on first and second.

Egenlauf and Woolheater again advanced on a wild pitch to put runners in position. An Oliveri double to left field brought in Egenlauf and Woolheater to score the final runs of the game. Mont Alto finished with the 8-4 win.

"I think a lot of the time it's not because we are not hitting the ball," said Nick Osborne. "Because we accumulate the hits. We just don't get our timely hitting. You know, with two outs, we seem to sometimes crack under pressure and not get the hits."

New Kensington will resume their series with Mont Alto on the road tomorrow beginning at 2 p.m. 

Written by Matt Heavner, PSNK Athletics Communications Intern