Photos by Michael Lipscomb
By Marquis Frias, Sports Editor
Junior catcher CJ Orrego’s walk off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth helped secure a 10-9 comeback win against Drew on Senior Day Sunday afternoon at Harold Bollinger Field.
The win pushes the River Hawks’ win streak to six games, all coming against Landmark Conference opponents.
Before the game, Susquehanna University honored the six seniors who are playing their last season with the team. The six seniors, Owen Ayers, Michael Girardi, Vito Demonte, Jack Cahill, Dylan Heyduk and Robert Cangelosi were all honored with a special ceremony before the game with gifts from the team and their families.
After no runs were scored in the first inning, sophomore Dylan Gallagher would get things started for Drew like he did in Saturday’s game one with a solo home run to right field.
The Rangers didn’t stop there, as in the very next inning Drew scored four runs to take an early 5-0 lead. The River Hawks allowed three hits in the inning, along with an error that scored a run for Drew.
Susquehanna would finally get on the board in the bottom half of the frame, with Orrego crossing home plate off a Heyduk sac-fly.
Drew eventually got that run back in the fourth inning when sophomore Frank Master hit a RBI triple on the 10th pitch of the at-bat to stretch Drew’s lead 6-1.
More back and forth action ensued in the fifth and sixth inning as Heyduk hit a RBI single to right field that scored junior Lincoln Hower in the bottom of the fifth. Drew answered right back in the top of the sixth with two more runs, pushing their lead to 8-2.
Then in the bottom of the sixth, the River Hawks exploded for the most runs in an inning in the game with five runs to close the gap to a single run. The inning featured two hits from sophomores Lucas Zachesky and Luke Goodwin and three errors from Drew, two of which came from the third baseman.
With the score now at its closest late into the game, each team scored a run in the seventh inning to make the score 9-8. Orrego continued his strong day at the plate with a RBI double in the bottom of the frame, giving a sneak peek at what he would do just innings later.
In the eighth inning, after a one two three inning for the River Hawks, Susquehanna would tie the game in one of the wildest plays of the year.
After a throwing error by Drew’s catcher, Heyduk was able to cross home plate to tie the game at nine. Trailing Heyduk was sophomore Derek Asche who came all the way from first base and was rounding third after the error from Drew until he tripped and fell just feet away from home plate. In an attempt to retreat back to third, Asche was tagged out in the middle of third and home for the final out of the inning.
The drama carried into the ninth and final inning, where after another one two three inning for the Susquehanna defense, Drew would walk the inning lead off hitter Daly, representing the game winning run.
After Daly would advance to third base after a bunt by Zachesky and single from Goodwin, Orrego would step up to the plate and send a high fly ball that bounced off the right field fence, scoring Daly and winning the game.
“With less than two outs and a runner third, I was just trying to put a ball in play,” Orrego said. “[Drew pitcher] gave me a good ball to hit, and it did its job, we won.”
Orrego finished the day atop the box score going 2-4 with three RBIs and a run. Orrego talked about what it meant to be the hero for his team on Senior Day; “It meant a lot. When I transferred in, the group of guys above me took me under their wings. They were good to me and had my back since day one… it felt good to get it done for them.”
Joining Orrego atop the box score was Goodwin who finished his day going 2-5 at the plate with a run and RBI.
Goodwin was also the winning pitcher for the River Hawks after he came into the game in the top of the seventh and allowed no hits and no runs while recording one strikeout and walking one batter.
“It was great. The team rallied together and that’s probably the most fun I had playing baseball in a long time,” Goodwin said.
The win puts the River Hawks at a 19-11 record with a 10-5 conference record, good for third in the Landmark Conference rankings. Susquehanna will carry their six-game win streak when they host Juniata College on Tuesday, April 14 at 3:30 p.m.