PITTSBURGH, Pa. – La Roche baseball celebrated six seniors on Saturday afternoon against Mt. Aloysius and in the end, came away with a split.
GAME ONE: MAC 12 LRU 5
La Roche showed late fight but couldn't overcome an early deficit in a 12–6 loss to Mt. Aloysius in game one of the doubleheader.
Mt. Aloysius struck first in the opening inning, but La Roche answered immediately. Samuel DiCicco worked his way on and came around to score on an RBI groundout from Aaron Exler, tying the game at 1–1 and briefly giving the Redhawks early momentum.
That momentum quickly shifted in the second inning. Mt. Aloysius capitalized on control issues and delivered a big swing—a three-run home run from Tyler Alexander—to take a 4–1 lead. The visitors continued to apply pressure throughout the middle innings, stringing together hits and taking advantage of free passes to steadily build their advantage.
Jamison Rhoades started in the circle for La Roche and battled through a difficult outing, with walks and timely hitting by Mt. Aloysius proving costly. The Redhawks turned to the bullpen, but Mt. Aloysius continued to produce offensively, highlighted by a second home run from Alexander and a 15-hit performance overall.
By the seventh inning, La Roche trailed 12–1, but the Redhawks refused to go quietly. The offense came alive in the final frame, beginning with a run-scoring single from Brady Angus. Moments later, Alex Perez delivered the biggest swing of the day, launching a grand slam to left field to bring La Roche within six runs at 12–6.
The late rally showcased La Roche's resilience, as they capitalized on baserunners created by DiCicco, Angus, and Zander Sekerak. Perez finished with four RBIs, leading the offensive effort, while La Roche drew five walks as a team.
GAME ONE: LRU 9 MAC 7
La Roche bounced back in dramatic fashion in game two of the doubleheader, using a late offensive surge to rally past Mt. Aloysius for a 9–7 victory.
The Redhawks wasted no time responding after dropping game one, answering an early 2–0 deficit with a strong first inning. Chase Sankovich got La Roche on the board with an RBI single, Troy Sallis followed with a run-scoring double, and Aaron Exler added another RBI knock—helped by a defensive miscue—to give La Roche a quick 3–2 lead.
Mt. Aloysius continued to apply pressure, however, tying the game in the third and gradually reclaiming control. A run in the fourth and a two-run fifth pushed the visitors ahead 6–3, forcing La Roche to play from behind once again. Despite collecting hits throughout the lineup, the Redhawks struggled to string together the big inning—until later.
They chipped away in the fifth, as Sallis delivered again with an RBI double and Liam Burns followed with a run-scoring single to cut the deficit to 6–5. Still, Mt. Aloysius added another run in the sixth to extend its lead to 7–5.
From there, La Roche turned to Eli Thomas out of the bullpen, and he delivered a crucial performance. Thomas shut down Mt. Aloysius over the final five innings, allowing just one run while striking out six and giving the offense a chance to come back.
That opportunity came in the eighth inning—and La Roche made the most of it.
The rally began with traffic on the bases before Samuel DiCicco lifted a sacrifice fly to bring the Redhawks within one. Moments later, Sankovich came through again with an RBI single to tie the game at 7–7. With momentum fully on their side, La Roche capitalized on a wild pitch to take the lead, and Exler added an insurance run with another clutch hit, pushing the advantage to 9–7.
In the ninth, Thomas returned to the mound and closed the door, completing the comeback victory.
La Roche finished with 15 hits in a balanced offensive effort. Sankovich led the way with three hits and two RBIs, while Sallis added two doubles and two RBIs. Exler also drove in a pair, and DJ Loveland contributed three hits and aggressive baserunning that helped spark the late rally.