Baseball drops series to Mont Alto
The Penn State Fayette baseball team found itself opening Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) play over the weekend, and it faced a tough Penn State Mont Alto team in a three-game series.
Unfortunately for Fayette (3-12 overall, 0-3 PSUAC), it dropped all three games to Mont Alto (9-5, 3-0), who made the 2021 United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Baseball World Series.
"It was a tough start (to conference play) to draw Mont Alto," said first-year Fayette head coach Ryan Encapera. "They are a good team that has plenty of pitching depth and does a great job of situational hitting. Their pitchers kept us off balance and we weren't able to put too many hits together. Our pitchers kept us in each game, but our defense gave up some extra bases and outs that put each game out of reach. Our guys fought until the end and we will be ready for Beaver next week."
The opener was played Friday at Fayette, and Mont Alto won 7-2.
Mont Alto took a 2-0 lead in the first and led 4-0 after three innings. Down 5-0 heading into the bottom of the inning, Fayette got on the board when Kyle Ridley (Connellsville, PA/Connellsville HS) singled in Kaleb Scott (Uniontown, PA/Laurel Highlands HS). Scott had doubled to lead off the inning.
In the bottom of the eighth, Scott singled in Zimcosky to close out Fayette's scoring.
Scott finished with three (double and two singles) of Fayette's eight hits in the game. Chris Rendulic (Port Vue, PA/South Allegheny HS) went the distance for Fayette and gave up seven runs, five earned, and eight hits over the nine innings.
The teams traveled to Mont Alto Saturday for a double header, and the hosts won the opener, 9-2, as three Mont Alto pitchers limited Fayette to a total of three hits. Mont Alto led 5-0 before Fayette scored twice in the fifth, but Mont Alto put the game away with four runs in the sixth.
After Zimcosky scored on a wild pitch to get Fayette on the board, Scott scored on a Kade Musgrove (Dunbar, PA/Connellsville HS) sacrifice fly to center.
Scott took the loss on the mound as he gave up nine runs, eight earned, on 13 hits in six innings of work.
In the nightcap, Fayette fell behind early once again and lost, 7-2. Mont Alto scored a pair in the first, three in the third and two more in the fourth to take a 7-0 lead. Fayette scored its two runs in the sixth. With one out, Dylan Bohna (Uniontown, PA/Laurel Highlands, PA) singled and scored on a Zimcosky triple. Scott followed with a fielder's choice to bring in Zimcosky to close the scoring.
Zimcosky (triple and single) and Kade Musgrove (Dunbar, PA/Connellsville HS) (two singles) led Fayette offensively.
Fayette returns to action this weekend as it plays a PSUAC series against Penn State Beaver (1-4, 0-1). The series begins at Fayette Friday with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. and then Saturday, the teams head to Beaver for a double header. The first game is set for a 2:00 p.m. start with the second game scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
For more information on the Penn State Fayette baseball team, go to https://www.psathletics.com/sports/bsb/index or follow the team on Instagram @fayetteathletics.