Over the past weekend on Sunday, Sept. 24, beginning at 11 a.m. at the Robertson Athletic Complex, the First Annual Allegheny College Baseball Team Alumni Game was held.

The alumni roster brought on 20 players including Academic All-American Mike Kastelic, ’12, American Baseball Coaches Association Division III All-American Joe Killian, ’16, and North Coast Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year Chase Boyer, ’17.

“I thought the alumni game was a great idea and it was awesome to reconnect with the guys who have left their mark on this program,” said current player and outfielder, Cullen Flaherty, ’18. “The alumni team was great competition for us as well.”

The Allegheny baseball alumni were matched against the current baseball team in the game and in the bottom of the 10th inning, alumni player Eric Hansen, ’11, hit a walkoff, two-run home run to propel the alumni team to a victory of 5-4. Alumni player Eric “Bubba” Brandt, ’13, competed as the starting pitcher for the alumni and carried the Gators on the mound throwing four scoreless innings.

“I enjoyed catching up with the guys I graduated with and meeting alumni that I haven’t met before. It was a great experience and I’m looking forward to next year’s game,” said alumni player, Robert DiMaggio, ’17. “I expect big things from the Gators  this year.”

For the current Allegheny College baseball team, last weekend’s game may serve as a  preparation for the Gators’ upcoming scrimmage against Thiel College on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. at the Robertson Athletic Complex.

Sunday’s doubleheader will be head coach Brandon Crum’s debut as the 24th head coach of Allegheny College’s baseball program.

“Coach Crum is an innovative coach who has already helped us change our outlook and the way we play already,” said Flaherty. “With him, [Crum] I think our program is headed in the right direction and we should play for a championship this season.”

Hired as the head coach in August 2017, Crum is returning to Allegheny College after serving as the team’s assistant coach and recruiting coordinator from 2012 through 2016. Before being appointed as a full-time assistant coach in August 2012, Crum also worked as a volunteer assistant coach with the Allegheny baseball team in the 2010 season. Crum spent the 2017 season as head coach at Mercyhurst North East and was named the National Junior College Athletic Association Region III Coach of the Year.

The majority of the alumni players from the past weekend’s game had been coached by Crum, including Killian, ’16, and Boyer, ’17, who were prominent competitors in the North Coast Athletic Conference during their collegiate careers.

Coach Brandon Crum has additionally announced that his team’s annual alumni weekend will take place each year on Sept. 23 and 24.

“It’s the start of a great tradition like the so many others that the baseball team already has in place,” said alumni pitcher, Chase Boyer, ’17.