CRESSON, PA – The Franciscan University of Steubenville Barons baseball team showed an aggressive fight against the Mount Aloysius College Mounties during their Wednesday evening doubleheader.  The Barons lost both contests by a narrow margin: 10-9 and 6-3.  With the losses, the Barons stand 3-10 overall in the season, and 0-4 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.

The Barons played it close with the Mounties early in the contest, trailing 2-1 after the third inning.  The Mounties opened the game up in the fourth, scoring six runs to take an 8-1 advantage. 

The Barons answered with a run of their own in the seventh and final inning, loading the bases with only one out.  Pitcher Daniel Brink hit a single allowing Matt Pomeisl and Matt Liedel to score runs.  Jacob Machado followed with a single enabling Matt Talbot to score a run, too.  Rocco Auteri was up next at the plate with bases loaded, beating the pressure with a grand slam. 

Unfortunately, the Barons were unable to score the final run that they needed to tie the game, leaving the final score 10-9 for the Mounties.

“We made a couple of mistakes in the first inning that costs us some runs,” Barons head coach Dr. Robert Marrow remarked.  “But we fought back at the top of the seventh with some great hits and a grand slam by Auteri.  We put the pressure on them in the last inning, even after the grand slam, but it just wasn't enough to tie up the game.”

Auteri led the Barons in the game with two hits, five RBIs, and a run.  Machado also had a solid performance with two hits, one RBI, and two runs, while Pomeisl had two hits and two runs.

“They all played so well in the first game,” Coach Marrow noted.  “We outplayed them except for one inning.”

The Barons carried their momentum into the second game, as Machado opened the game with a home run.  However, the Mounties tied it up with a run of their own in the first inning, taking a 4-2 advantage by the fourth inning.  The Barons were unable to keep up the pace for the remainder of the contest, eventually taking a 6-3 loss.

“We are looking forward to our games against St. Vincent College and La Roche College next week,” said Coach Marrow.  “We are fixing the little things which is making our game consistently better and better, and we are looking forward to coming back after Easter and playing St. Vincent.”

The Barons travel to Latrobe, PA, April 5 to play St. Vincent College Bearcats at 3 p.m.