DUBOIS, Pa. – La Roche baseball took on Penn State DuBois on Wednesday evening in doubleheader action. Game one was a close one, but taken by the host Lions, but game two was dominated by the Redhawks, 18-3.
GAME ONE: Penn State DuBois 5 La Roche 4
La Roche would strike first in the top of the first inning, when Andy Sopata delivered a two RBI double, scoring Brandon Snyder and Josh Dreyer to make it 2-0.
DuBois fired back immediately in the bottom of the first, taking the lead off RBI's by way of groundout, a double and a single.
The Lions addede to the lead in the bottom of the fourth to lead 4-2, but in the sixth inning, the Redhawks struck again.
Larry Bielawski cut the deficit to one with an RBI double, then Dom Brncic's sacrifice RBI scored Bielawski to even the game at 4-4.
DuBois, however, would win by way of walk-off, as a La Roche error allowed the game-winning run to score.
Chris Tarquinio got the start and in three innings, allowed four runs (two earned), eight hits and struck out one.
Samuel DiCicco tossed two innings of one hit relief, walking one, while the loss went to Caden Maffitt, who threw 1.1 innings, allowing one unearned run, three hits and walked one.
Offensively, La Roche picked up six hits, led by Bielawski's 2-for-3 outing.
GAME TWO: La Roche 18 Penn State DuBois 3
The Redhawks got revenge in game two and wasted no time scoring four runs in the top of the first.
A wild pitch brought home the first La Roche run, then Sopata came through with a two RBI triple and Maffitt would then pick up an RBI groundout to round out the scoring in the first.
The Lions would trim the deficit in half, 4-2, in the bottom of the second with a two RBI double, but the Redhawk bats fired back in the third.
La Roche added five more runs in the third to build a 9-2 lead and it started with Dante Armanini's RBI single.
Danny McCaffrey would draw a bases loaded walk and then DJ Loveland made it 7-2 with an RBI fielder's choice.
McCaffrey and Loveland would score the fourth and fifth runs of the inning, thanks to a pair of DuBois errors.
The Lions final run scored in the bottom of the third with a solo home run.
In the fourth, Armanini and McCaffrey both brought home runs to move the needle to 11-3, then in the fifth inning, Alex Perez drove in a pair with a double, followed by a Brady Angus RBI single to make the score 14-3.
The Redhawks closed the scoring in the sixth inning, as Tyler Smith drove in two with a double, then a pair of RBI single from Tanner Schmitt and Sopata sealed the scoring.
Izaak Ogrodowczyk earned the victory, tossing four innings, allowing three runs, six hits, two walks and struck out three.
Aaron Exler would throw two innings of relief, allowing three hits and struck out two, while Colin Riordan threw one inning, allowing a hit and a walk.
Offensively, La Roche racked up 16 hits, led by Sopata and Loveland's 3-for-5 outing. Smith and Angus also delivered two-hit games.
The Redhawks now set their sights on Penn State Behrend in an AMCC Championship rematch. La Roche hosts the Lions on Saturday, Apr. 12 with first pitch of game one slated for 1 p.m.