ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – The Albright baseball team dropped a hard-fought 9-8 battle at Eastern in MAC Commonwealth action on Friday.
With the loss, the Lions fall to 0-14 in conference and 1-34 overall. Meanwhile, the Eagles complete the series sweep and advance to 7-9 in conference and 14-25 overall.
It was a battle of defenses throughout the opening two frames as the two teams remained scoreless. Eastern broke through in the bottom half of the third tallying four hits and earning four runs to take the lead. Albright responded in the top of the fifth as
Ethan Karel walked and
Nick Barton singled through the right side to jumpstart the Lions offense. The two each stole a base and
Jack Gilmer singled to bring Karel home and put Albright on the board. Sklenarik then singled up the middle to send Barton home. Albright capped off the fifth as
Eddie Meredith reached first on an error and Gilmer scored, cutting the Lions deficit to 4-3.
Albright continued their momentum in the top of the sixth as
Josh Halye got on base with a single. Karel followed with a single to move Halye to second. Gilmer then loaded the bases for the Lions as he reached on an error. All three then advanced on a balk as Halye scored an unearned run that tied the game at four. The Eagles jumped back in front in the bottom half of the sixth behind two runs on two hits to grasp a 6-4 lead. The Lions continued to battle, however, as
Roman Berretta singled and stole second to lead off in the top of the seventh. Meredith singled down the third base line to move Berretta to third.
Will Algard and
Chris Thomas both got on base and brought Berretta home to get the Lions within one. Meredith then circled home on a ground out to tie the game back up at six. Albright then took their first lead of the game in the eighth as Sklenarik and Berretta got on base. Algard then singled to bring home both runners who scored on an error by the catcher to grasp an 8-6 advantage. The Lions defense stood tall in the bottom half of the eighth, but Eastern pulled ahead in the final frame ad they tallied three final runs behind two hits to grasp a 9-8 victory.
Jon O'Connor (0-1) receives the loss on the pitching mound for the Lions behind 1.2 innings pitched, three strikeouts, and 12 batters faced. Barton fueled the Lions offense behind a season-high three hits on five at bats. Eastern held a slight 13-11 hits advantage over Albright.
The Lions will take the field one final time this season tomorrow as they travel to York for a MAC Commonwealth doubleheader beginning at noon.
