Baseball Equalizes with Two in the Eighth, Gets Walk Off in the Ninth to Beat FDU-Florham
Myrtle Beach, SC --- WPI mounted a late rally and walked off with a dramatic 7-6 victory over FDU-Florham on Wednesday morning. Jacob Wiberg (Exeter, NH) scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth, sealing the Engineers' comeback win.
Andrew Cash (Marlboro, MA) led the way for WPI, going 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in the first inning. Tommy Burns (Morris Plains, NJ) added two hits, including an RBI single in the fifth, while Zachary Roethlein (Pomfret Center, CT) drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth. James DiGiovanni (Kennebunk, ME) also chipped in an RBI groundout. Wiberg reached base twice and scored twice, including the game-winning run
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For FDU-Florham, John Rolli (Long Valley, NJ) and Nick Colbert (Belmar, NJ) drove in runs, while Peter Longo (Cherry Hill, NJ) delivered a key two-run double in the sixth.
Kaiden Williams (Aurora, IL) earned the win for WPI, throwing a scoreless ninth with one strikeout. Alex Hee (Walpole, MA) worked two innings, allowing one run on two hits. Luke Blandino (Eden, NY) started for WPI, striking out five over five innings, but was tagged for four earned runs.
For FDU-Florham, Evan Sabo (Hillsborough, NJ) took the loss after allowing the winning run in the ninth. Chris Kaponis (Burlington Twp., NJ) started, working five innings and giving up four runs (three earned).
WPI took control early as Cash launched a three-run homer in the first, scoring Burns and Matt Shea (Andover, MA) for a 3-0 lead.
FDU-Florham cut into the deficit in the fourth after Giovenco stole third and scored on an error. The Engineers got that run back in the fifth as Burns extended WPI's lead to 4-1 with an RBI single.
The Devils surged ahead in the sixth, putting together a four-run inning. Rolli scored on a fielder's choice before Longo smacked a two-run double to left-center, giving FDU-Florham its first lead of the game at 6-4.
WPI fought back in the eighth, beginning with DiGiovanni grounding out to score Jonathan Lattimer (Windsor, CT). Roethlein then lifted a sacrifice fly to right, allowing Cash to cross the plate and tie the game at 6-6.
In the bottom of the ninth, Wiberg led off with a four-pitch walk and advanced to second on a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by Shea. A wild pitch moved him to third before another errant ball two pitches later allowed him to sprint home for the game-winning run, delivering a 7-6 walk-off victory for WPI.
WPI continues its Myrtle Beach Spring Break Tournament slate with a doubleheader against Bridgewater State on Thursday at Pelicans Ballpark, with the first game beginning at 6:30pm. FDU-Florham opens MAC Freedom play with a doubleheader against King's (Pa.) on Saturday at noon.
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