Center Valley, PA (April 11, 2007) – Playing its fourth game in the last three days proved to be a little too much as sloppy play in the field and on the mound handed the DeSales University baseball team suffered a 13-12 loss to Alvernia College in a non-conference game on Wednesday afternoon.

 

        The Bulldogs (14-7 overall) committed four costly errors directly leading to six Crusader runs (18-7 overall) and also walked 11 Alvernia batters in the loss.  AC, who was also playing its fourth game in three days, also suffered from sloppy play making six errors but used some timely hitting over the last three innings to record a come-from-behind one run win.

 

        DSU opened up a 7-2 lead after two innings as they plated three runs in the first inning on freshman Andrew Feher’s (Riegelsville, PA/Palisades) first career home run, a three-run shot right-center field, and added four more tallies in the second on an RBI single from freshman Doc Neiman (Center Valley, PA/Southern Lehigh), a two-run home run from senior Matt Lezinsky (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) and an RBI single from Feher.

 

        The Crusaders came all the way back to tie the game at seven with two runs in the third and three more in the fourth and took its first lead of the game with three runs in the top of the fifth inning making the score 10-7.  DeSales answered its first deficit with three runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth inning on RBI singles from sophomore Greg Treat (Concord, NH/Concord), an RBI groundball from sophomore Mike Pennington (Dresher, PA/LaSalle) and an RBI single from Neiman.

 

        After retiring the side in the top of the sixth, DSU regained the lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth as JT Brotosky (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) singled and scored on an error from the AC centerfielder and Feher scored on an RBI double from junior Scott Matejicka (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall).

 

        Alvernia scored once in each of the last three innings to provide the final margin as the Bulldogs left four men on-base over the last two innings including stranding the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.  AC scored the game-winner in the top of the ninth when a ground ball to shortstop with the bases loaded and one out was juggled breaking up any chance of a double play and allowing the go ahead run to cross home plate.

 

        Junior Andrew Heard (Alexandria, VA/Hayfield) took the loss, the first of his career, pitching the final 1.1 innings without allowing a hit, but walking four, two of which were intentional.  Heard had another solid day at the plate going 3-for-5 with a run scored.

 

        Feher led the offensive attack as he finished the game with a line that read 3-for-3 with three runs scored and four RBI’s.  Neiman, Brotosky, Matejicka and Treat each had two hits and Lezinsky knocked in two runs with his second home run of the season.