Box Score Baseball
Lebanon Valley 9, Alvernia 6

ANNVILLE, Pa. - Lebanon Valley rallied back from a 5-0 deficit to take the series opener from league leader Alvernia, 9-6, at McGill Field on Friday.

The Dutchmen (17-9, 8-5 CC) pull into a tie for second place with the win, tied with Messiah and a game back of the Crusaders (18-7, 9-4 CC) and Widener. LVC will visit Alvernia Saturday for a doubleheader to finish the series.

Played in a drizzle that turned into a steady rain as the game wore on, Lebanon Valley dug deep for a four-run sixth to take the lead, and Lee Webber shut Alvernia down over the last three innings in relief of Austin Hornberger to tie the LVC single-season record with his fifth save. Mike Wakalowski (2-0) faced four batters in the sixth to get the win.

Alvernia's Aaron Benusis (4-1) was outstanding over his first four innings, but unraveled in the fifth to allow three runs, and eventually departed amidst LVC's four-spot in the sixth.

Tim Filer drove in three runs, and freshman Zac Edwards had the best game of his young career with a 3-for-4 effort that included a pair of doubles, two runs, and an RBI. He, Filer, Corey Cinicola, Jordan Higgins, and Phill Dohner all recorded multi-hit games.

The visitors manufactured runs in the second and third to lead 2-0, then tacked on two in the third and another in the fifth to lead 5-0. LVC had managed just four baserunners through four innings on Benusis, but began to chip away in the fifth with three runs thanks to RBI doubles from Phill Dohner and Tim Filer sandwiched around Zach Smith's ground-out to cut the lead to 5-3.

Hornberger recorded the first two outs of the sixth but was replaced by Wakalowski with a man on; Alvernia converted that into a run but Wakalowski worked out of a bases-loaded jam to limit the damage. That helped the Dutchmen take the lead in the bottom half, with Edwards and Smith driving in runs before Filer roped a two-run double into the rightfield corner to take the lead, 7-6.

With the rain coming in harder and harder, Brett Fundell doubled in Devin Dellinger in the seventh and Dohner scored on Higgins' grounder in the eighth, and that was all the insurance LVC needed as Webber dominated in his appearance, striking out four and inducing a game-ending double play.

Hornberger took no decision, going 5.2 innings and allowing five earned. Benusis also went 5.2 innings, allowing all seven earned with seven strikeouts. Matt Backlund and Craig Mellinger split relief for Alvernia.