ALFRED, NY – Alfred University scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning and hung onto beat Lebanon Valley College, 4-3, Friday afternoon in the first game of the AU-hosted NCAA Division III regional tournament.
 
Alfred, the second seed in the four-team double-elimination regional, will take on top-seeded Rowan University at 10 a.m. Saturday. Rowan shut out fourth-seeded Penn State-Behrend, 2-0, in Friday's other first-round game.
 
In its win over third-seeded Lebanon Valley, Alfred (36-4) scored four runs with two outs. Junior outfielder Samantha Jauregui (Lindsay, CA/Lindsay) singled and with one out moved to second on a sacrifice. After senior pitcher Alison Wickwire (Towanda, PA/Towanda) walked, junior shortstop Nicole Maher (Newark, DE/Caravel Academy) singled to score Jauregui and advance Wickwire to third. Junior Jasmine Picini (Alexandria, VA/West Potomac) singled to score Wickwire, with Maher advancing to second and sophomore first baseman Sophia Chiavatti (Tustin, CA/Foothill) followed with a double to plate Maher and Picini.
 
The score remained 4-0 until the top of the fourth, when Lebanon Valley's Jasmine Dutton singled with one out and moved to third on an Elaine Gross double. One out later, Dutton came in to score on an RBI single off the bat of Jorey Aumiller.
 
The Dutchmen drew to within one with a pair of runs in the fifth. Cheyanne Brown was hit by a pitch leading off the inning and moved to second on a groundout. Emily Johnson followed with a single to right and advanced to third on an error, with Brown scoring to make it 4-2. Jordyn Miller hit a fly to center to score Johnson and bring Lebanon Valley to within a run.
 
After Gross led off the sixth with a single, AU freshman pitcher Kerri Keeler (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt) relieved Wickwire. After a sacrifice moved Gross to second, Keeler struck out Aumiller before a fly-out to center ended the inning. Lebanon Valley threatened in the seventh when Johnson reached second base on an error with one out, but Keeler induced a pair of groundouts to end the game.
 
Maher (run) and Chiavatti (two RBI) each had a pair of hits to lead Alfred. Wickwire allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits over five innings, striking out three and walking two to improve to 11-3 on the season. Keeler struck out one and walked one in two hitless innings to earn her second save.
 
Haley Neff got the pitching loss for Lebanon Valley (17-23). She allowed four earned runs on six hits, striking out three and walking to two to fall to 11-12 on the season. Gross was 3-for-3 with a double to pave the Dutchmen.
 
Lebanon Valley will play Penn State-Behrend in Game 4 at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, with the loser eliminated. The winner of that game will play the AU-Rowan (Game 3) loser at 3 p.m. Saturday in Game 5. The tournament concludes on Sunday, with the Game 3 winner playing the Game 5 winner in Game 6 at noon. If necessary, a seventh winner-take-all game will be played at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
 
The tournament winner advances to next weekend's Super Regional round, with eight winners of two-team best-of-three series will advance to the Division III College World Series May 21-26 in Salem, VA.
 
 
Rowan 2, Penn State-Behrend 0

Box Score
After three scoreless innings, Rowan scored the only two runs of the game, both with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, to improve to 37-6 and advance to the winner's side of the bracket.
 
Morgan Smith walked leading off and pinch runner Rosalie Hood moved to second on a groundout. One out later, pinch hitter Sara Finnegan was hit by a pitch to put runners and first and second. Pinch hitter Amanda Toomer singled to load the bases before Alyssa Sims plated Hood and Finnegan with a single to center.
 
The singles by Toomer and Sims were the only hits Rowan managed off Behrend starter Rachel Miller, who went six innings and struck out two to fall to 14-5 on the year.
 
Sarah Blagg had two hits and Alexa Bupp and Leah Griffin each belted a double for the Lions, who fall to 25-14 on the year.
 
Beth Ann Hyland got the win for Rowan, allowing three hits in five innings and striking out eight. Hyland pitched the first four innings before Allison Nolan came on to start the fifth. Nolan went two innings, allowing two hits, before Hyland came back to start the seventh. Hyland allowed Griffen's leadoff double in the seventh, then struck out the next three Behrend batter to improve to 18-4 on the season.
 
The Rowan-Alfred game Saturday morning will feature two nationally-ranked teams. Rowan is the 12^th-ranked team in the NFCA Division III poll, while Alfred is ranked 15^th. Saturday's meeting will be the first-ever between the two teams.