READING, Pa. – A fast start for both teams that saw eight runs scored in the first two innings petered out afterwards, with the Hood College baseball team getting the short end of the stick in a 7-3 loss to Alvernia in game one of the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth Championships.
On the Mound
Joe Alexander (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County) was the only one on the mound for the Blazers, allowing six earned runs off of nine hits, striking out and walking four batters.
At the Plate
Stephen Sommer (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun) finished the day 2-5, smacking a double and a home run for two total RBIs.
Cameron Day (Hagerstown, Md./Clear Spring) hit 2-4 in the afternoon.
How it Happened
Hood started the game off right, as a
Keegan Brennan (Lake Wynonah, Pa./Nativity BVM) knock through the left side of the infield was followed up by a Sommer bomb to right field, giving the Blazers a quick 2-0 lead.
Alvernia must have had the same pregame meal as Hood, as the Golden Wolves got their first two runners around the bases to tie the game with only one out, with the next runner getting on base, stealing second, then being driven home on a double to take the lead. Things took a tough turn for the Blazers afterwards, as an errant throw to first allowed the runner on second to make it home, but Alexander recovered and got the next batter to ground out.
There was not much Hood could get going in the second inning, and a leadoff triple for Alvernia started another scoring run, getting two more runners around the diamond before Alexander locked in again and struck out the final two batters needed to get out of the inning.
What looked like it would be a shootout at first turned into an old-fashioned pitching duel after, as both squads combined for a total of five hits across the next five total innings.
The bats finally got going in the eighth inning, as the Blazers took advantage of a leadoff double from Sommer to drive him around, but the Golden Wolves used some smart baserunning to get a run of their own across and put Hood in a 7-3
disadvantage.
Needing four runs to keep the game going, Hood managed to get two batters on base, but could not chip into Alvernia's lead any more, taking the game one loss.
For the Opponent
Jason Kelly went 2-3 with a walk and two RBIs, grabbing two stolen bases.
Evan Thomas batted 2-4, hitting a double and driving one runner in.
Notes
The Blazers are on the brink in the best-of-three series, needing back-to-back wins to make it to the next round of the MAC Commonwealth Championships.
Up Next
Due to impending weather in Reading, the first pitch of game two has been moved to 10 a.m.. on Saturday, May 4, with game three following shortly after if necessary.
