BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Saint Peter's baseball team secured an electric 13-12 road victory over Lehigh on Wednesday at J. David Walker Field as eight different Peacocks recorded at least one hit.
The Peacocks' (9-26, 4-13 MAAC) bats were hot against the Mountain Hawks (19-20, 8-11 Patriot League) which helped propel them to victory, but they also didn't commit a single error which was a big factor in the Wednesday thriller.
Tommy Kendrick and
Tyler Cotten led Saint Peter's with three hits each. Kendrick also recorded one run and four RBIs while Cotten totaled three runs and three RBIs.
Alex Rakas had the next most hits on SPU with two, one of which was a double.
Ashby Vining also had a solid day for the Peacocks, ringing in four runs with the help of two sacrifice flies. His one hit was a double which came in the top of the seventh inning.
On the mound for Saint Peter's,
Hunter Lefkus earned the win. He came into the game in the second inning and allowed just one run in five innings pitched. Lefkus also held Lehigh two two hits in 21 batters faced.
The Peacocks will play the Mountain Hawks again next Wednesday, April 30, but this time at home in Jersey City.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Peacocks found themselves trailing 1-5 after the first inning, but quickly cut their deficit to just two at 3-5 in the third with an RBIs from Kendrick and Vining. Saint Peter's then took the lead back in the top of the fourth, scoring four runs behind hits from Rakas,
John Wade, Cotten and Kendrick.
With a 7-5 advantage heading into the sixth inning, Vining hit yet another sacrifice fly to score
Sean Martinez. The Mountain Hawks took that run right back in the bottom of the inning to make it 6-8.
It was in the seventh when the Peacocks truly took control of the game. With one out and two runners on base, Cotten singled to left field which scored both to put SPU up four runs, 10-6. Cotten was able to make it to third as Martinez was on second with Kendrick at the plate. Kendrick singled up the middle to add two more runs.
With two outs now, Vining doubled to center field to bring Kendrick home. The Peacocks went into the bottom of the inning with a commanding 13-6 lead. Lehigh showed a lot of fight, responding well in the bottom of the seventh with four runs.
Saint Peter's managed to hold on to the 13-12 victory after letting up two more runs in the bottom of the ninth.
UP NEXT
The Peacocks continue conference play on the road with games against Merrimack this weekend. The games will take place at 3 p.m. ET on Friday, 1 p.m. on Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday.
--
For continuing coverage of Saint Peter's University Athletics, visit SaintPetersPeacocks.com and follow the Peacocks on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
