Hood 8, Lebanon Valley 7 (Game 1)

LVC Lineup: 1. Puglisi (CF), 2. Kiessling (3B), 3. Albright (C), 4. Fundell (1B), 5. Orlando (DH), 6. Z. Smith (SS), 7. Dietrich (LF), 8. Seibert (2B), 9. Harned (RF), Wall (SP)

Hood Lineup: 1. Esposito (CF), 2. Kessler (2B), 3. Warrenfeltz (3B), 4. Gall (DH), 5. Johnson (1B), 6. Shriver (LF), 7. Cook (SS), 8. Friend (RF), 9. Scheuerman (C), Schweizer (SP)

How It Happened
Lebanon Valley dropped a pair of contests to Hood to finish up its 2016 season on Saturday afternoon. The Dutchmen finished with a record of 17-22, 8-13 MAC Commonwealth, while the Blazers ended their season at 16-24, 7-14 MAC Commonwealth. In game one, Hood used a three-run seventh inning to edge LVC.

In the opening game, LVC opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with a run, only to see Hood score two runs in the second and one in the third to take a 3-1 lead. In the bottom of the third, Marhsall Kiessling doubled home Michael Puglisi to cut the Blazers' lead to 3-2. Next, Brett Fundell singled home Kiessling, who scored on a throwing error by the shortstop, to tie the game at 3-3.

The Dutchmen struck again in the bottom of the fourth as Puglisi singled home Marc Seibert to make it 4-3 and Kiessling drilled a two-RBI triple to right center, making it a 6-3 contest. Hood didn't go away, unfortunately, scoring a run in the fifth before Drake Friend hit a solo bomb in the sixth to trim LVC's lead to just one at 6-5. In the bottom of the sixth, Colin Albright's single plated Seibert and gave the Dutchmen a 7-5 cushion heading into the top of the seventh.

In the top of the seventh, Hood broke through and Josh Gall hit a two-RBI single to tie it up at 7-7. Next, Chris Shriver reached on a fielder's choice, but pinch runner Paul Quattrone scored on the play, giving the Blazers their first lead since the second inning.

The Blazers' closer Michael Hernandez pitched a perfect bottom of the seventh and earned his fourth save of the season.

At the Plate
 - Puglisi, Kiessling, and Seibert all notched three hits for the Dutchmen. Kiessling led the squad with three RBI and Seibert added a stolen base.

On the Mound
 - Casey Wall got the start and pitched well, tossing six innings while scattering 10 hits with a strikeout.

Hood 5, Lebanon Valley 2 (Final – 8 Innings)

LVC Lineup: 1. Puglisi (CF), 2. Kiessling (LF), 3. Albright (C), 4. Fundell (1B), 5. Orlando (DH), 6. Z. Smith (SS), 7. Berry (3B), 8. Drawbaugh (RF), 9. Seibert (2B), Sell (SP)

Hood Lineup: 1. Esposito (CF), 2. Kessler (2B), 3. Warrenfeltz (3B), 4. Gall (DH), 5. Johnson (1B), 6. Shriver (LF), 7. Cook (SS), 8. Friend (RF), 9. Scheuerman (C), Luscombe (SP)

How It Happened
Game two took extras to decide a winner, and Hood scored three runs in the top of the eighth and held on for the narrow 5-2 win.

It was LVC who took the early lead in the bottom of the third when Albright roped a double down the left field line to score Kiessling and make it 1-0. The Blazers, however, tied it up at 1-1 in the top of the fifth when Cam Esposito hit an RBI-single. The game remained a 1-1 tie until Gall broke the tie in the top of the eighth with a double to left-center to plate Brooks Warrenfeltz.

Shriver made it 3-1 with an RBI-single, and Drake Friend followed with another RBI-single for Hood, making it 4-1. Tyler Cook later scored on a throwing error to make it 5-1.

In the bottom of the eighth, Z. Smith crushed a double off the wall to score Albright and make it 5-2, but LVC was unable to mount a comeback and eventually fell.

At the Plate
 - Albright and Z. Smith led the offense with two hits apiece. Albright added an RBI and scored a run.

On the Mound
 - Corey Sell was masterful on the rubber, as he went seven innings and gave up just one earned run while striking out a batter. For Hood, Nate Luscombe (5-4) picked up the win after going seven innings and giving up a run while striking out three.

Senior Day
Prior to the start of game one, the Dutchmen honored their seven seniors on Senior Day in Zach Smith, Mike Wakalowski, Greg Orlando, Glenn Dietrich, Paul Smith, Brett Fundell, and Andy Meiselwitz. LVC would like to thank these seven guys for their outstanding achievements on and off the field throughout their time at Lebanon Valley, and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors.