BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

CHAMPIONSHIP HOMEPAGE
Please note that all tickets MUST be purchased in ADVANCE! There will be no cash ticket sales at the gate. Click on the Championship Homepage link above for the ticketing link and additional tournament information. 

AMCC baseball players and coaches will be returning to Johnstown, PA this week for the AMCC Baseball Championship Tournament. For the second year in a row, the tournament will take place at the Point Stadium, May 6-9. The tournament will kick off on Wednesday, May 6 at 3:00pm between #4 Alfred State College and #5 Mount Aloysius College. Game two on Wednesday will feature #3 Pitt-Greensburg and #6 Pitt-Bradford. #1 Penn State Behrend and #2 Hilbert College each receive first round byes and will begin play on Thursday. 

Top seed Penn State Behrend enters the championship tournamnet with a 13-4 AMCC record. The Lions boast the top two hitters in the AMCC, with junior infielders Dylan Barnes and David Gibson hitting .435 and .421, respectivelly on the season. Barnes is hitting .452 in conference play with four home runs, 25 RBI and 19 runs scored in league games. Gibson is hitting .500 against AMCC teams with 25 RBI, 18 runs scored and a home run. Senior infielder Silvio Ionadi tops the AMCC with 51 runs scored overall, including 25 in league play, while also ranking second with 23 stolen bases (13 vs AMCC teams). Junior pitcher Colin Bolla leads the conference with a 3.05 ERA, seven wins, and 80 strikeouts in overall stats, including a no-hitter in a 1-0 victory over Pitt-Bradford on April 11. In conference play, Bolla is 6-1 with 56 strikeouts and a 2.85 ERA.

Hilbert enters the tournament as the #2 seed with a 10-7 record against AMCC teams, earning their highest seed in program history. Leading the Hawks offense is senior outfileder Joey Haynes with a .398 batting average, while his 20 stolen bases rank him third in the league. Freshman outfielder Jude Khoury is hitting .359 with 18 RBI and 13 runs scored. Junior RHP Jude Lowry ranks second in the conference with a 3.20 ERA and is tied for second with six wins on the year. 

Entering the tournament as the #3 seed is Pitt-Greensburg with a 9-8 record. Senior infielder Tommy Smith leads the Bobcats with a .406 batting average in conference play, with 14 RBI and three home runs. Colin Solinski has connected on a team-leading four home runs vs AMCC teams, while hitting .382 and driving in 19 runs. William Somers carries a .386 average with 11 RBI and two home runs in conference play. On the mound, junior Conner Burkey has 5-2 conference record with a 3.59 ERA and 38 strikeouts on the season.

With a 9-8 conference record, Alfred State enters the tournament as the #4 seed. Sophomore utility player Jordan Hughes, hitting .421 in conference play, is tops in the conference with 47 RBI, including 29 in vs AMCC teams, while also ranking second with ten home runs on the season. Senior infielder Zach Young has a .412 batting average with 22 RBI 16 runs scored and four home runs in league play.  On the mound, Hughes leads the Pioneer pitching staff with three conference wins, recording 26 strikeouts in 33.0 innings pitched.. Junior Dominic Morsch has registered two saves for Alfred State, with both coming in conference play.

Mount Aloysius finished with a 8-9 conference record and has earned the #5 seed. Junior infielder Anthony Maseto has a .508 average in league play with 18 RBI and one home run. Junior outfielder Tyler Alexander carries a .412 conference batting averge with 33 RBI and eight home runs. Sophomore RHP Troy Misiura is 4-1 overall on the mound this season with 64 strikeouts in 51.2 innings, while carrying a 3-0 record in conference play. 

Rounding out the tournament field, with a 7-10 record, is #6 Pitt-Bradford. Senior infielder Alex Colwell leads the Panther offense in conference play with a .333 batting average, including 13 RBI and a home run. Senior C/1B Noah Avey ranked second on the team with a .328 average to go with 10 runs scored. Senior pitcher Patrick Synan leads the Panther pitching staff with three wins on the mound and 35 strikeouts in league play.