Hughes Walk-Off Single Gives PSUGA Comeback Victory

Myrtle Beach, SC. – It took all seven innings on Thursday as the Penn State Greater Allegheny Baseball team (4-2, 0-0) picked up a walk-off win over Ancilla College 10-9. After trailing 8-3 after four innings of play, PSUGA scored back-to-back three run innings before the walk-off single by Hunter Hughes (Murrysville, PA./Franklin Regional HS) gave PSUGA their fourth win of the season.

It was Brett Yuhas (Munhall, PA./Steel Valley HS) that got the comeback started lacing a triple down the left field line to start the inning. Brian Koglin (Fox Chapel, PA./Fox Chapel HS) would follow that up with a triple of his own and PSUGA was back on the board trailing by four. The extra base hits just kept coming as Dylan Ernst (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport HS) and Zack Craven (McKeesport, PA./McKeesport HS) hit back-to-back RBI doubles and PSUGA cut the lead to 8-6 after five.

Ancilla College would add another run in the top of the sixth on a fielders choice before Matt Smith (North Versailles, PA./East Allegheny) got his team out of the jam trailing 9-6. It would once again be Koglin coming up in a big situation with two and two out in the bottom of the sixth as the tying run. He would promptly tie the game with a three-run blast over the left field wall and it was all tied up at 9-9.

The score would remain 9-9 into the bottom of the seventh and after a groundout to start the inning Craven was hit by a pitch to put PSUGA in business. Alex Fudge (Donalsonville, GA./Seminole County HS) would come on to run for Craven and stole second to put a runner in scoring position and two out. Hughes would then come to the plate trying to keep his team’s chances alive.

After taking the first pitch for a ball, he slapped the next pitch hard up the middle between the second baseman and short stop and Fudge came all the way around to score giving PSUGA the walk-off 10-9 win. It was Hughes’s first hit of the season and it could not have come at a better time giving PSUGA the win.

Marcos Lopez (Caglas, Puerto Rico/Ramey HS) got the start and lasted 3.2 innings giving up eight runs on eight hits while walking four and striking out two. PSUGA scored first for the sixth consecutive game with three runs in the bottom of the second before Ancilla put up four runs in both the third and fourth spelling the end of Lopez’s day.

Koglin led the offense going 2-4 with a triple, home run, and four RBI in the win and was one of three players to have a multi-hit game. Yuhas and Ernst each went 2-4 respectively with Ernst driving in one RBI in the win. Thursday was also the first game this season that PSUGA did not commit an error in the field. However, it has been the offense that has carried this team with a .317 average in their first six games.

PSUGA baseball returns to action Friday when they wrap up their Myrtle Beach trip with a game against Nassau Community College at 12:45 p.m.