BOX SCORE

Lakewood, N.J. (May 14, 2009) – The effort on the mound remained largely the same as sophomore Chuck Nicholas (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown) allowed just one run through eight, but the results at the plate were starkly different on Thursday as #7 Alvernia University (27-16) pounded out 12 hits in a 10-1 win over #3 Montclair State University (26-19) in day two action of the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Baseball Regional at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Wednesday night the clutch hits were hard to find in a 2-1 loss to Keystone College, but Thursday they came early and often.

With two out and no one on in the bottom of the first, junior catcher Steve Bealer (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown) started a string of six straight two-out hits that led to an early 4-0 lead for the Crusaders.
Bealer's double to the left center gap was followed by a Chuck Krichling (Chesterfield, N.J./Northern Burlington) double to the same spot. Junior Steve DeBarberie (Drexel Hill, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) followed with a triple to the other gap, and Chris Stoudt (West Lawn, Pa./Governor Mifflin) delivered with a single to right.

Mike Latona (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) kept it going with a single up the middle and Tim Ahlquist (Millville, N.J./Millville) drove in the fourth run with an infield single before Tyler Runkle (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion), the ninth batter of the inning, struck out to end the frame.

Half the Crusaders two-out, first-inning hits came with two strikes.

The second inning was more of the same for the Crusaders as Bealer came to the plate for the second time in as many innings with two out and no one on. He singled through the left side on a full count and Krichling walked putting two on and ending the day for Montclair starter Daniel Nodarse. DeBarberie walked to load the bases and Stoudt drove a 1-0 pitch to left center to chase home two more and put the Crusaders up 6-0.

Alvenria scored in five of the first six innings taking a 10-0 lead while Nichoals, the current National College Baseball Writers Association pitcher of the week, cruised through the Montclair lineup inning after inning. After a walked and an error to open the second Nicholas set down 10 straight Red Hawks, four of them on his own with four of his five strikeouts on the day.

Ahlquist hit a solo homer to left in the third, his second of the season, and DeBarberie launched his fourth of the season to close the Crusaders' scoring in the sixth.

The three through eight hitters in the Alvernia lineup all had multi-hit games led by Stoudt who finished 3-for-4 with a run and three RBIs. Bealer, Kriching, and DeBarberie were all 2-for-4 with two runs scored and DeBarberie drove in a pair. Ahlquist was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs and made a team-high six assists at second base.

Montclair had seven different players collect one hit each, three of which were pinch hits. The Red Hawks combined back-to-back pinch hits to put a run on the board in the seventh against Nicholas. Joseph Zembryski doubled with one out and Mike Ercolano followed with an RBI single. Nicholas got a ground ball to Krichling for the second out and after a walk put two on with two out Krichling made a nice pick on a short hop down the line at third and tagged the bag to end the frame.

Sophomore Austin Rohrbach (Maxatawny, Pa./Kutztown) pitched a 1-2-3 ninth the end the game. MSU sent six different players to the mound through eight innings. Alvenria touched up Nodarse for six runs and scored two each of Sean Hille and Giovanni Caraballo.

Montclair State is eliminated from the regional and Alvernia will play on in the losers bracket facing the loser of Thursday's afternoon game between #5 The College of New Jersey and #1 Kean University on Friday at 10:00 a.m.

#7 Alvernia 10, #3 Montclair St. 1