Reading, Pa. (April 23, 2022)- Alvernia University (14-21-1, 7-4) was swept by Lebanon Valley College (22-13, 10-3) Saturday afternoon in a MAC Commonwealth baseball matchup at Lebanon Valley.
 
The Dutchmen secured a 10-5 win over Alvernia in game one before taking down the Golden Wolves 8-5 in game two.
 
In game one of the afternoon, the Dutchmen opened the scoring in the first inning, taking an early 1-0 lead. The Golden Wolves responded in the top of the second, with Sophomore Jason Kelly hitting a home run to left field.
 
Lebanon Valley countered Alvernia's homer with three runs in the bottom of the second inning. This gave the Dutchmen a 4-1 run at the end of the inning. The Dutchmen carried their momentum into the third inning, extending the lead to six, making the score 7-1 at the end of the third.
 
Alvernia's offense warmed up in the fifth inning, with Kelly singling to centerfield. Billy Dougar capitalized on the scoring opportunity, recording Alvernia's second home run of the day to make it a 7-3 game. The run did not stop here, as just a few at-bats later, Luca Grammatica was driven in by Nick Nutile. The Golden Wolves ended the top of the fifth inning down, 7-4.
 
The Dutchmen rebounded quickly, pushing the lead back up to four in the bottom of the fifth. Alvernia's defense rebounded, keeping the Dutchmen scoreless in the sixth inning.
 
The Golden Wolves' offense was unable to get their bats going in the seventh, ending the top of the inning down 8-4. The Dutchmen added to their lead in the bottom of the seventh, scoring two runs to make it a 10-4 game.
 
Justin Ayala opened the eighth with a triple for the Golden Wolves before being driven in by Nutile. The Dutchmen quickly recovered, putting a quick end to the Alvernia spark. Lebanon Valley ended game one on top of Alvernia, 10-5.
 
Kelly recorded two hits and one RBI in game one, while Dougar tallied one hit and two RBIs. Nutile ended game one with two RBIs.
 
In game two of the afternoon, the Golden Wolves jumped out to a quick start. Ayala started the top of the first with a single down the right-field line before Nutile was walked, and Ayala advanced to second. Thomas Faggioni was then walked to load the bases. Ayala was finally sent home after Matt Edwards was hit by a pitch, giving Alvernia the early 1-0 lead.
 
The Dutchmen tied the contest up in the bottom of the second, making it a 1-1 ball game. The game then went scoreless the next three innings.
 
The Golden Wolves finally broke the stalemate, with Edwards hitting a sacrifice fly down the right-field line to drive in Ayala. Faggioni was the next runner to score for Alvernia, crossing home on a wild pitch. The Alvernia defense remained stout in the sixth inning, holding a 3-1 lead heading into the seventh.
 
The Dutchmen broke their dry spell in the seventh inning, recording three runs to jump out in front of the Golden Wolves, 4-3. Alvernia quickly responded in the eighth inning, with Faggioni hitting a single to right field, driving in Ayala, and tying the game up at four apiece. Edwards then hit a sacrifice fly to left field, driving in Faggioni and giving the Golden Wolves a narrow 5-4 lead.
 
The Dutchmen bounced back in the bottom of the eighth, hitting a grand slam and taking an 8-5 lead over Alvernia late in the contest. The Golden Wolves tried to climb back into the game in the top of the ninth but to no avail. Lebanon Valley ended game two on top of Alvernia 8-5, completing the sweep.
 
Ayala led the Golden Wolves in game two, recording three hits and three runs. Edwards tallied three RBIs during the contest.
 
The Golden Wolves return to action Monday as they host Widener University in their final home game of the season.