JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (April 30)  — The California University of Pennsylvania baseball team ended the regular season by splitting a doubleheader against Pitt-Johnstown at Point Stadium in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action on Saturday night, winning 9-1 before suffering a 13-6 loss.

With the result, the Vulcans close the regular season with a 26-20 record behind a 17-11 mark in divisional play. Cal U finished as the fourth seed in the West and will play Millersville, the No. 1 team in the country, on the initial day of the PSAC Tournament. Meanwhile, the Mountain Cats end their season at 18-27 on the year with an 11-17 conference record.

Senior GJ Senchak (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) earned the win to improve to 4-3 this year after allowing only one run (earned) on nine hits in a complete game (100 pitches). Junior Brantley Rice was saddled with the loss (4-3) after yielding six runs (five earned) on seven hits with three walks in 5.1 innings (99 pitches).

In Game 1, the Vulcans scored in the second after back-to-back singles by junior catcher Joe Yourgal (Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Catholic) and sophomore second baseman Garrett Brooks (Connersville, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) put runners on the corners with no outs. Yourgal eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by junior right fielder Bobby Thompson (Blairsville, Pa./Blairsville) to give the Vulcans a 1-0 lead. Cal U extended the lead in the fifth inning after a pair of one-out walks. Junior shortstop Danny McGrath (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) stole second, which allowed senior centerfielder Mick Fennell (Butler, Pa./Butler) to score from third after a throwing error to increase the deficit, 2-0. McGrath scored a few moments later after an RBI single to center field by sophomore first baseman Chris Wastchak (Peters Twp., Pa./Peters Township), 3-0. 

The Vulcans tallied four runs in the sixth inning after sending nine batters to the plate. Brooks led off the inning with a double down the left-field line before stealing third base. After Logan drew a walk, Thompson followed with a one-out, two run double down the right-field line to increase the lead to 5-0. UPJ was forced to make a pitching change before Thompson stole third and scored on the ensuing throw, 6-0. Following a pair of two-out walks, freshman designated hitter Kristian Webb (Whitby, Ontario/Sinclair) registered an RBI double, which gave the Vulcans a 7-0 advantage. The Mountain Cats responded by manufacturing a run in the bottom half of the sixth after a pair of one-out hits cut the lead to 7-1. Cal U added two more runs after an RBI single by Logan, who was caught in a rundown between first and second, which allowed freshman left fielder Eric Fairman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) to score, 9-1.

Brooks went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and three stolen bases, while Thompson finished 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored. The Vulcans combined to steal eight bases in the win.

In Game 2, sophomore Levi Krause (East Berlin, Pa./Spring Grove) suffered his first loss of the season to fall to 1-1 after surrendering four runs (all earned) on eight hits in 3.0 innings. Senior Logan Fluke earned the victory (2-0) after scattering 11 hits and yielding six runs (earned) with seven strikeouts in a complete game (127 pitches). 

The Vulcans opened the scoring after Fennell led off the game with a triple before scoring on an RBI ground-out by McGrath to make the score 1-0. Cal U added another run in the second after Webb walked to start the inning and advanced to third on a single by Fairman. Logan followed with an RBI single that scored Webb and increased the lead to 2-0. Fennell led off the third with a double before advancing to third and scoring on a one-out single by Wastchak, 3-0. The Mountain Cats answered in the bottom half of the third after three-straight, one-out hits cut the deficit to 3-2.

UPJ took the lead in the fourth after a lead-off double was followed by a two-run homer by freshman catcher Scott Thompson, 4-3. UPJ exploded for nine runs in the fifth inning, all with two outs. Second baseman Devon Walker drew a bases-loaded walk before a two-out, two-run single to the left side increased the lead to 7-3 and forced another pitching change. The Mountain Cats loaded the bases again followed by another two-run single to center field that increased the deficit to 9-3. UPJ ended the inning with back-to-back home runs, including a three-run homer, 13-3. Cal U cut the lead by two runs after four singles and a wild pitch in the sixth, 13-5, before adding one more run after a fielder's choice in the seventh, 13-6.

Fennell went 3-for-4 with a double and a triple and two runs scored to move into third place in program history with 222 career hits, which is just two hits shy of tying the all-time school record.

Cal U returns to action in the PSAC Tournament in over a week on May 8 against Millersville, the top seed in the East, at Kelly Automotive Park in Butler, Pennsylvania with the time still to be announced.