York, Pa. (April 26, 2024) - York College (18-16, 10-9) scored four unanswered runs to down Alvernia University (23-14, 14-5) 8-3 in the first game of the three-game conference series on Friday evening at York.

In a game that lasted three hours and 13 minutes, saw nine Alvernia pitchers, and had a Mike Ramundo at-bat go 16 pitches, it was the Spartans who prevailed and put an end to their eight game skid.

Alvernia's loss, combined with a Messiah win over Widener on Friday evening, locked up the top two seeds in the MAC Commonwealth tournament. Messiah will be the top seed, and Alvernia will be the #2 seed regardless of the outcome of its doubleheader with the Spartans tomorrow. 

Score: York 8, Alvernia 3
Records: Alvernia (23-14, 14-5), York (18-16, 10-9)
Hits: Alvernia 10, York 14
Errors: Alvernia 0, York 0
WP: Jason Cassidy (2-0)  LP: Michael Andrew (2-2) 

How it Happened

• Alvernia got on the board in the top of the second with a solo homer by Ben Houghton that just cleared the fence in left center. 
• The Spartans tied the game at 1-1 on a bases loaded walk after the Spartans loaded the bases with one out. York then took the 2-1 lead on a sacrifice fly. Alvernia had a play at the plate to catch the runner tagging up, but the throw went wide as York took the 2-1 lead. York nearly had an opportunity to tack on more, but Bobby Hansen made a fantastic stop behind second base to hold the runner at third and nearly throw out the batter. Mike Ramundo then made a sliding grab at second to secure the final out of the inning.
• York then made it a 3-1 game with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth, but Alvernia answered back in the top of the sixth. After Jason Kelly reached on a hit by pitch, Kelly came around to score on a two out RBI double from Hansen. Alvernia then evened it up at 3-3 on an RBI single from Garrett Hunter to bring in Hansen.
• The tied game didn't last long as the Spartans retook the lead, 4-3, in the bottom of the sixth on a one-out single through the right side. The Spartans threatened to add more, but Alvernia was able to get out of the jam with just the run of damage. 
• The Spartans added one in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single up the middle to make it a 5-3 game, and tacked on three runs off of four hits in the bottom of the eighth to take the 8-3 lead.
• Alvernia had two runners on with two outs in the top of the ninth, but the Spartans struck out Jacob Chapman to end any Alvernia threat and come away with the 8-3 win.

Alvernia Offensive Leaders
Ben Houghton: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 Run Scored
Garrett Hunter: 2-for-3, 1 RBI
Jake Chapman: 2-for-4, 1 BB

Alvernia Defensive Leaders
Mike Ramundo: 6 Assists, Two Putouts, 0 Errors
Matt Edwards: 9 Putouts, 0 Errors
 
Alvernia Pitching
Chris Sasso: 5 IP, 5 Hits, 3 Earned Runs, 4 Walks, 3 Strikeouts, 25 Batters Faced
Michael Andrew (L): 0.1 IP, 2 Hits, 1 Earned Run, 0 Walks, 0 Strikeouts, 3 Batters Faced
Brody DeGroodt: 0.0 IP, 1 Hit, 0 Earned Runs, 0 Walks, 0 Strikeouts, 1 Batter Faced
Grant Fitzgerald: 0.1 IP, 0 Hits, 0 Earned Runs, 0 Walks, 1 Strikeout, 1 Batter Faced
James Mueller: 0.1 IP, 1 Hit, 1 Earned Run, 0 Walks, 0 Strikeouts, 2 Batters Faced
Cameron Abele: 0.1 IP, 0 Hits, 0 Earned Runs, 0 Walks, 0 Strikeouts, 1 Batter Faced
Logan Solomine: 0.2 IP, 1 Hit, 0 Earned Runs, 0 Walks, 0 Strikeouts, 4 Batters Faced
Josh Kreider: 0.2 IP, 4 Hits, 3 Earned Runs, 1 Walk, 0 Strikeouts, 7 Batters Faced
Connor Friedel: 0.1 IP, 0 Hits, 0 Earned Runs, 0 Walks, 0 Strikeouts, 1Batter Faced

Up Next

• Alvernia hosts York tomorrow for the final two games of the conference series. Alvernia cannot move up or down from the #2 seed, but York is fighting in a four-team race for the final two playoff slots.