PITTSBURGH, Pa. – La Roche baseball welcomed Mt. Aloysius for an AMCC doubleheader on Tuesday. In game one, the Redhawks were unable to hold on to an early lead, falling 7-4. In game two, it was a big late inning by the red and black to come through with the 7-3 win.
GAME ONE: Mt. Aloysius 7 La Roche 4
La Roche wasted no time jumping ahead in game one, scoring three in the bottom of the first.
Dimitri Gary opened the scoring with an RBI double to score Josh Dreyer, and scored one batter later as Cameron Mauk drove in Gary with an RBI single to make it 2-0.
Dom Brncic followed two batters later and reached on an error that allowed Mauk to score and make it 3-0.
Mt. Aloysius cut the deficit to 3-1 in the top of the second, but the Redhawks got that run right back in the bottom of the second as Casey Jones' RBI ground out made it 4-1.
The Mounties would trail by just one run at 4-3 with a two-run top of the fourth, then took the lead in the top of the sixth with another pair of runs.
Mt. Aloysius again plated two runs in the top of the seventh to build a 7-4 lead and close out the win.
Larry Bielawski took the mound for La Roche and in 5.1 innings allowed five runs (four earned), five hits, three walks and struck out seven.
Reed Bursic tossed 1.2 innings of relief, allowing two runs, three hits and one walk.
Offensively, the Redhawks had seven hits in the game with Gary going 2-for-3, the only player with multiple in the game.
GAME TWO: La Roche 7 Mt. Aloysius 3
After a scoreless first inning, the Mounties opened the scoring, plating two runs in the top of the second to take the lead.
In the top of the fourth, Mt. Aloysius added another run and made it a 3-0 lead.
La Roche trimmed the deficit in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring two runs to make it a 3-2 game.
Christian Melendez opened the scoring with an RBI double that scored Larry Bielawski, then immediately after, Brncic traded places with Melendez, scoring him with an RBI double of his own.
The Redhawks had a golden opportunity in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases, but were unable to pull through as the game stayed at a 3-2 score.
The magic came in the bottom of the seventh, as La Roche took the lead, 5-3, as Casey Jones belted his first homer of the season, a three-run shot.
A few batters later, the lead moved to 6-3, as Ricky Heyz delivered an RBI single to score Melendez.
Still in the seventh, with two outs, the Redhawks reloaded the bases and Dreyer picked up an RBI walk as the score then sat at 7-3 at the end of the inning and held that lead the remainder of he game.
Chris Tarquinio got the start in game two for La Roche and in the complete game effort, allowed three runs, six hits, one walk and fanned two.
Offensively, the Redhawks had 11 hits, as Brncic (2-for-2), Dreyer (2-for-4) and Jones (2-for-5) all had multiple hits.
La Roche is right back home on Thursday, Apr. 18 when they host Hilbert. First pitch for the 7/9 doubleheader is slated for 1 p.m.