MAC Commonwealth Championship Tournament 
No. 1 Alvernia 8, No. 4 Lebanon Valley 4

LVC Lineup
1. Edwards 2b, 2. Berry dh, 3. Puglisi cf, 4. Kiessling lf, 5. Marcelli 1b, 6. Albright c, 7. DeClerico ss, 8. Weik 3b, 9. Herring rf, Wall p

Alvernia Lineup
1. Rieger cf, 2. Cirilli 2b, 3. Sides ss, 4. Coons dh, 5. Briner 1b, 6. Dubas rf, 7. Esposito lf, 8. Carbonara c, 9. Dunne 3b, Catchmark p

How It Happened
A seventh-inning, grand slam proved the difference in Lebanon Valley's 8-4 loss to top-seeded Alvernia in the opening contest of the 2017 MAC Commonwealth Baseball Tournament at PEOPLESBank Stadium in York, Pa. on Thursday afternoon.

With the bases-loaded and one away in the bottom of the seventh, Alvernia's Ben Dubas cleared the bags with a line-shot home run over the fence down the right field line to put the Crusaders (27-11-2) ahead for good.

The Flying Dutchmen (20-17) erased an early 3-0 deficit in the fifth inning and took their first lead of the day when Michael Puglisi hammered a two-run home into the kiddie park on the other side of the left-center field wall, scoring Zac Edwards and making it 4-3 LVC in the process. Edwards drove in the team's first two runs when his single to center plated Chase Weik and Colin Albright.

Alvernia got on the board first when Cameron Coons singled to left field, driving in a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. The Crusaders added to their advantage in the fourth when Dubas' ground ball to third base resulted in a throwing error and allowed Coons to score an unearned run.

After LVC took the lead, AU got the rally in the seventh started with two walks and single before Matt Briner's infield single to shortstop drove in Mike Cirilli to tie the score. Dubas' ensuing grand slam capped the contest's scoring.

On the Mound
- Casey Wall (4-4) got the start for LVC and surrendered just three earned runs on six hits in 6.1 innings of work. He walked five and recorded one strikeout.
- Tregg Liebel was solid in a relief appearance for the Dutchmen, allowing just two hits in the final 1.2 innings.
- Nick Marotta (4-2) earned the win for Alvernia after taking over in the sixth inning and giving up just one hit and two walks to go along with a pair of strikeouts.
- Lebanon Valley chased AU starter John Catchmark from the game in the sixth after scoring four runs on five hits and five walks.
- Antonio Baglivo was strong in the final two frames for the Crusaders, surrendering two hits and adding a strikeout.

At the Plate
- Michael Puglisi had a strong day at the dish, going 3-5 with a home run, a pair of RBI, and a run scored.
- Zac Edwards went 2-3, drove two runs, and scored another.
- Josh Marcelli was a perfect 3-3 for LVC with three singles and a pair of walks.
- Ben Dubas had the hot bat for Alvernia and went 2-4 with four RBI and a run scored.
- Cameron Coons finished 2-2 with a pair of RBI, two walks, and two runs scored.

Around the Diamond
- The Dutchmen committed a pair of errors, leading to two unearned runs.
- Zac Edwards and Chris DeClerico each assisted on four putouts from their middle-infield positions.

Who's Next?
The Dutchmen face the loser of Thursday night's matchup between No. 2 Arcadia and No. 3 Widener. The game is set for Saturday morning at 11 a.m. at PEOPLESBank Stadium in York, Pa.