READING, Pa. – Jeff Yordy had a pair of hits and
Noah Beebe hit a two-run home run, but the Albright baseball team dropped a non-conference game against Neumann, 9-5, on Thursday afternoon at Kelchner Field. Neumann used a five-run sixth inning to distance itself from the Lions.
Beebe's blast came in the bottom of the first inning after Neumann scored two runs of its own in the top half of the opening frame. Beebe's towering shot to left with two outs tied the score, bringing home
Micah Storms.
Zach Krause followed the homer with a double, but he stayed there.
Albright (1-3) took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the second thanks to the bottom part of the order.
Brandon Daubert singled after one out. He stole second and then advanced to third on a passed ball.
Bryan Brubaker's single to right scored Daubert to hand the Lions the advantage.
Neumann (4-5) tied the score on an RBI double in the top of the third, and the Knights took the lead in the fourth thanks to some bad luck for Albright. Albright starting pitcher
Connor Travis got a strikeout to open the inning, but the third strike came on a wild pitch that allowed the hitter to reach. An error on the next play put two runners on for the Knights, and a sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly gave the Knights a 4-3 lead without the benefit of a hit in the inning.
The Knights opened its lead with a five-run sixth inning to make it 9-3. Albright got one of those runs back in the bottom half of the sixth.
Jesse Fikslin reached via a hit batsman and scored after stealing third and having the throw head into left field. That made it 9-4.
Albright added another in the ninth inning.
Nathan Fretz walked and scored on a throwing error later in the inning.
Nick Dinnocenti,
Michael Falconetti and
William Nicoletto combined to throw 3.2 innings out of the bullpen allowing just one run on three hits. Patrick Graham got the win for Neumann, allowing three runs while striking out eight over his five innings.
Albright heads to Fort Pierce, Fla., next week for its Spring Break trip. The Lions will play four games there, starting with a rematch against Marywood on Tuesday at 1 p.m. The Lions defeated Marywood, 5-4, yesterday.
