PITTSBURGH, Pa. - La Roche baseball began AMCC home play on Sunday, but were unable to get past Alfred State, falling in the twin-bill to the Pioneers
GAME ONE: Alfred State 6 LRU 1
La Roche stayed within striking distance for much of the game but a late surge from Alfred State led to a 6–1 setback.
Alfred State opened the scoring in the first inning with a sacrifice fly, but La Roche answered in the second. Samuel DiCicco sparked the offense with a double and came around to score on an RBI double from Liam Burns, tying the game at 1–1.
From there, the Redhawks' pitching staff kept the game tight. Jamison Rhoades worked through early innings traffic, while RJ Kissick and Jimmy Roe combined to limit Alfred State to minimal hits across the middle frames. Despite allowing a go-ahead run in the third on a wild pitch, La Roche's defense held firm and kept the deficit at just one run heading into the final inning.
Offensively, La Roche managed five hits, with Burns and DiCicco each recording doubles. However, the Redhawks were unable to string together enough timely hits against Alfred State's pitching, which struck out 10 La Roche batters and limited scoring opportunities.
The game remained close until the seventh inning, when Alfred State capitalized on an error and timely hitting to score four runs and break it open. That late rally pushed the lead to 6–1 and put the game out of reach.GA
GAME TWO: Alfred State 8 LRU 5
La Roche built an early lead and stayed competitive deep into the game, but a pivotal late-inning surge from Alfred State led to an 8–5 loss.
The Redhawks came out strong in the first inning, jumping ahead 2–0 behind an RBI double from Aaron Exler and a run-scoring single by Troy Sallis. La Roche continued to apply pressure in the fourth inning, adding another run on a bases-loaded walk by Chase Sankovich to extend the lead to 3–0.
Behind a steady outing from starting pitcher Kade Sell, La Roche maintained control through the early innings. Sell worked through traffic and limited Alfred State's offense, holding the lead into the middle of the game.
Alfred State began to chip away in the fifth inning with a solo home run and an RBI double, cutting the lead to 3–2. La Roche responded in the sixth, taking advantage of a wild pitch to push the lead back to 4–2.
The game turned in the seventh inning. Alfred State strung together timely hits before delivering a three-run home run that flipped the score from a one-run La Roche lead to a 7–4 deficit. The momentum shift proved decisive as Alfred State added another run in the eighth.
La Roche continued to fight, scoring in the eighth inning after capitalizing on an error to make it 8–5. The Redhawks finished with 10 hits, including multi-hit performances from Samuel DiCicco, DJ Loveland, and Ricky Heyz, but were unable to complete the comeback.