Photo by Abigail MacMillan
By Peter Vassilakos
The River Hawks are coming off a sweep of long-time conference rival Juniata College 3-0. They welcomed No. 15 ranked Misericordia Cougars to Harold Bollinger Field. Misericordia came into this game with a record of 30-5. Ryan Redmond and the River Hawks had other ideas. Redmond pitched the first six innings. The game was close, which is exactly what the River Hawks needed.
The bats came alive in the third as Brock Veit stepped up to the plate with bases loaded and walked to first, bringing the first run home. The Hawks had a 1-0 lead. The scoring continued when Lance Book stepped up and grounded out into a double play, but he sent Tony Rossi home to double the lead for the River Hawks.
For the next three innings, it was a battle of pitchers with Redmond keeping the Cougars’ bats quiet. The Hawks capitalized on the runners on the bags. It was not until the sixth inning when the Cougars started to hit. They came out with Joe Comins rifling a double down the right field line which sent two runners home to tie the game at two points apiece.
It continued to be a defensive battle with no runs scored in the seventh or eighth inning. The Cougars had their chance to put themselves in a winning position in the top of the ninth, but again the River Hawks’ bullpen gave the hitter the chance to send the Cougars home.
This game got the ending that it deserved with the man of the hour, Tony Rossi, stepping up with two men on. Rossi connected beautifully with the ball and cranked one out to centerfield, bringing Sean McCulloch home for the game-winning run. The River Hawks stampeded to Rossi to celebrate the massive upset.
The River Hawks head into the final part of their season as they travel to Drew for another conference matchup.
