BOX SCORE

Kingston, Pa. (Apr. 24, 2009) - Alvernia University (21-15, 8-6) sent eight batters to the plate and scored five runs on three hits, a walk, and an error in the seventh inning of a 12-7 win at #19 Wilkes University (26-6, 11-2) Friday afternoon in Freedom Conference baseball action at Wilkes.

Alvernia stays in fourth place with just a weekend of baseball to go before the start of the five-team playoffs next Tuesday.  The Crusaders have a pair of games at second-ranked FDU-Florham on Saturday and current control their own destiny for making the postseason in their first and only season in the Freedom Conference.

Junior starter Shane Zellers (Wiconisco, Pa./Williams Valley) faced a bit of trouble early giving up a walk and a single to the first two batters.  Two wild pitches later the Colonels were on the board with the game's first run.  Zellers settled in after the getting back-to-back strikeouts and a groundout to get out of the inning.

The Alvernia offense tied the score quickly with a run in the top of the second.  Steve DeBarberie (Drexel Hill, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) singled to start the inning and took second on a failed pickoff attempt.  He took third on Reid Martin's (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata) bunt single and scored on a Tyler Runkle (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion) sacrifice fly.

Zellers got the first two out in the second, but allowed a single to the eight-hole hitter and a two-run homer to the last man in the lineup that put the Colonels up 3-1.

Alvernia scored a run in the third, but Wilkes got that one back in the fifth to take a 4-2 lead.

Todd Speilman (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown) opened the Crusader seventh with a walk and Eric Focht (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus), who finished with three hits singled to put the first two on.  Tim Ahlquist (Millville, N.J./Millville) reached on an error by the thirdbaseman and Steve Bealer (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown) drove in a run with a single to right.

After a sacrifice bunt moved runners to second and third, DeBarberie delivered a clutch triple to give Alvernia its first lead of the day, 5-4.  Sophomore Chris Stoudt (West Lawn, Pa./Governor Mifflin) dropped down a bunt that brought in DeBarberie and the Crusaders enjoyed a 6-4 lead.

The first two Wilkes batters reached in the home half of the seventh, but Zellers struck out the third hitter.  He walked the next man to load the bases and turned the ball over to Andrew Sellers (Pequea, Pa./Penn Manor) with just one out.

Sellers struck out the only man he faced and Brian Longo (Uncasville, Conn./Montville) closed the seventh with another strikeout.  Zellers finished the day giving up four runs on nine hits with four walks and eight strikeouts.

Alvernia scored three times on three hits in the eighth including a Bealer homer, but the Colonels answered that with three in the bottom of the eighth.  The Crusaders put two more on the board in the ninth and Ed Thompson (Levittown, Pa./Pennsbury) pitched around trouble with a big lead to close it.

Focht, Bealer, and DeBarberie finished with three hits apiece.  Bealer led the Crusaders with three RBIs.

Alvernia should know its playoff fate by the end of the day on Saturday.  The fourth and fifth seeds will play an opening round game on Tuesday.  The winner of the game joins the top three seeds for a double elimination tournament at Bear Stadium in Boyertown.

Alvernia 12, #19 Wilkes 7