Myrtle Beach, S.C. - The Albertus Magnus College baseball team won their fourth straight game with an epic ninth-inning comeback over the Lions of Penn State-Harrisburg Tuesday afternoon, scoring five runs in the final frame to secure a 10-6 victory during its spring trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 10 | Penn-State Harrisburg 6
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (5-1) | Penn-State Harrisburg (6-4)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
Albertus got on the board in the first inning with a Brandon Clark (Cheshire, Conn.) hit by pitch and a Matt Warren (Wolcott, Conn.) single. A walk to Brendan Clark (North Haven, Conn.) loaded the bases for Jason Sullivan (Meriden, Conn.), who slapped a sacrifice fly to centerfield, scoring Brandon Clark from third.
Ike Flannery (Wethersfield, Conn.) started on the mound for the Falcons and threw a perfect first inning, notching a strikeout in the process.
The Falcons were held hitless for the next three innings against Lions' starter, Nick Fitzgerald, who struck out six in his first four innings of work. Flannery matched zeros with Fitzgerald until the fourth, when the Penn State offense showed some life. A pair of walks and two stolen bases put runners on second and third with one out for the Lions' Matt Parks, who ripped a two-RBI single to give Penn State the lead.
The Falcons roared right back with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning. A Joe Matthews' (Anaheim, Calif.) single and two Lions' errors loaded the bases for Brendan Clark, who grounded into an RBI-double play. A Sullivan single plated Brandon Clark from third base for the Falcons third run of the day.
The Lions weren't deterred, however, as Ryan McSorely was hit by a pitch and quickly stole second base, setting the stage for Brett Williams, who turned on the ball and drove it over the fence for a two-run home run. A pair of singles and a stolen base put runners on second and third for Zachary Koroneos, who hit an RBI-sacrifice fly and increased the Lions' lead to 5-3 in the bottom half of the fifth frame.
Both teams were held at bay until the seventh inning, when the Falcons scored two more runs to tie the game at 5-5. With one out, Brandon Clark hit a scorching drive to the outfield fence for a double, that was soon followed by a Warren RBI-triple. Brendan Clarke singled in Warren to tie the game at five, heading into the bottom of the seventh.
Sean Jefferson (West Haven, Conn.), who entered in relief in the fifth inning, held the Lions at bay by allowing just one run over 3.1 innings of work. The freshman also tallied one strikeout.
The Falcons went three up, three down in the top of the eighth, before the Lions regained the lead, 6-5, with a run in the bottom of the frame. Penn State led off the inning with a pair of hits, putting runners on the corners. A deep fly ball to centerfield by Dallas Hite scored Tyler Aug from third base on a sac fly.
Down by a run heading into the last inning, the Falcon offense came to life. A Matthews' single and Brandon Clarke home run put two on the board for Albertus to start the inning.
A fielder's choice by Brendan Clarke and an Elijah Spataj (Cheshire, Conn.) walk put runners on first and second with two outs for the Falcons. Vincent Gualtieri (Norwich, Conn.) then launched a decisive two-RBI double into the gap, to increase the Falcons' one-run lead to three, 9-6. Caden Cloutier (Wallingford, Conn.) then brought Gulatieri home with a single to widen the margin to four runs, 10-6, heading into the bottom half of the ninth.
Jay Palais (Farmington, Conn.) closed out the game for the Falcons on the mound. The Lions' Chase Smith led off with a single and a stolen base, before Palais slammed the door, striking out the next three hitters and sealing the Falcons' comeback victory.
KEY STATS
• Warren led the way for the Falcons with three hits to go along with a run scored and an RBI.
• Brandon Clark tallied a game-high four runs scored, also finishing with a team-high tying two RBI.
• Brandon Clark hit Albertus' lone home run in the game, his third this season.
• Jefferson earned the win by tossing 3.1 innings of one-run ball.
• Flannery tallied two strikeouts in 4.2 innings.
• Palais struck out three batters in a clean ninth inning.
NOTEWORTHY
• The Falcons have won five consecutive games and are a perfect 4-0 so far at Myrtle Beach, S.C.
• Through six games, Brandon Clark already tied a career-high with three home runs.
• Warren paces Albertus with a whopping .567 batting average and 17 RBI.
• Warren has tallied at least one RBI, one run, and one extra-base hit in every game this year.
• Freshman Jefferson picked up his first career win in his second career appearance.
