Behrend Baseball to Host 2008 AMCC Baseball Championships on May 9-11
After registering a 17-1 mark during the AMCC regular-season, the Behrend Lions are set to host the 2008 AMCC Baseball Championships on the Behrend diamond, May 9-11. Behrend has also won AMCC regular-season titles in 2002 & 2003.
The first game of the tournament is scheduled for Friday, May 9, when second seeded Frostburg State (21-13, 14-4) will play third seeded Lake Erie (17-25, 10-8) at 9:30 a.m. The blue and white will begin tournament play against the fourth seeded Pitt-Bradford (20-16, 10-8) at 1:00 p.m. Earlier this season, Behrend (31-9, 17-1) dropped Bradford by scores of 11-4 and 7-2, while Lake Erie also swept Frostburg 5-3, and 8-6. Bradford advanced to the second round after defeating Pitt-Greensburg 4-0 and 6-4, while Lake Erie handled Penn State Altoona 2-0, 6-4.
Game three on Friday will feature the losers of game one and two, while the winners will meet Saturday, May 10 at 9:00 a.m. Play will continue throughout Saturday with the 2008 AMCC Championship game (if necessary game) slated for 12:00 noon on Sunday, May 11, with the winner receiving the league's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.
The blue and white have great team depth and have received contributions from every team member in 2008. Leading from the mound are juniors David Koerbel (Pittsburgh/Central Catholic) and Andrew Chrobak (Laurel/New Castle). Koerbel is 7-1 with a 2.80 ERA, while Chrobak boasts a 7-2 record and an ERA of 2.44. Charles Zimoski (Oil City/Oil City) is 4-1, while the bullpen has been steadied by junior Ben Cain (Venetia/Peters Township). Cain is 4-0 on the season with five saves.
Offensively, the balanced attack features five guys with 44 or more hits on the year. Senior Adam Martin (Rochester/Rochester) is batting .400 with 31 RBIs, John Gray (State College/State College) has scored 33 runs, stole 12 bases while chipping in a .364 average, and Dustin Dubensky (Punxsutawney/ Punxsutawney) set a school record for doubles with 20 and leads the team with 38 RBIs. Geoff Lang (Pittsburgh/North Allegheny) is hitting .355 with 35 runs scored and 12 extra-base hits, and Josh Fyffe (Fredonia/Sharpsville) leads the team with 28 walks and 17 stolen bases to go with a .349 batting average.
"We like where are," said head coach Paul Benim.
"Our players earned the opportunity to host this event which is very
special. Our players are working very hard and have put a great deal of
effort into the 2008 season. Their focused on the championship. It will be a
great tournament with some exciting baseball."
Friday, May 9
Game 1 @ 9:30 a.m.
#2 Frostburg vs. #3 Lake Erie
Game 2 @ 1:00 p.m.
#1 Behrend vs. #4 Pitt-Bradford
Game 3 @ 4:00 p.m.
Loser of game 1 vs. loser of game 2
Saturday, May 10
Game 4 @ 9:00 a.m.
Winner of game 1 vs. winner of game 2
Game 5 @ 12:00 noon
Loser of game 4 vs. Winner of game 3
Game 6 @ 3:00 p.m.
Winner of game 4 vs. winner of game 5
Sunday, May 11
Game 7 @ 12:00 noon
same as game 6 (if necessary)