ERIE, Pa. — The No. 8 Mount Union baseball team fell to Penn State Behrend, 7-1, in a non-conference matchup on Thursday afternoon.
The Purple Raiders (28-7) were held to six hits on the day, while the Lions (24-7) combined for 12 hits to secure the victory.
Mount Union was led by freshman
Luke Perkins (Olmstead Falls, OH / Olmstead Falls), who finished 2-for-3 with an RBI. Junior
Drew Denham (Alliance, OH / Marlington) added a hit and scored the lone run for the Raiders.
The Lions scored first in the bottom of the third. Mount Union responded immediately in the top of the fourth. Denham drew a one-out walk and advanced on a junior
Trevor Szekely (Canal Fulton, OH / Northwest) single before Perkins lined an RBI single to left, evening the score at 1-1.
The Lions regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs, Behrend loaded the bases via a hit-by-pitch and two walks. Federouch then delivered the biggest hit of the afternoon, a three-run double to left-center that pushed the lead to 4-1. Behrend added three insurance runs in the eighth inning.
Junior
Drew Gernert (4-2) started on the mound for the Raiders, striking out six batters over 4.2 innings while allowing four runs. Chase Caricato (2-1) earned the win for the Lions, pitching 4.2 innings of relief and allowing just one run. Jake Manendo threw the final 1.1 innings to earn his first save of the season.
The Purple Raiders return to action Sunday, April 26, with a single nine-inning game vs. Westminster at home for Senior Day. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
