Box Score
(Haverford, Pa.) –The Dickinson baseball team played the longest game in Centennial Conference history last season, surviving an 18-inning affair at Ursinus College. On Saturday, the Red Devils came close to matching that marathon effort, going 16 innings at Haverford College.
The 'Fords would get the win in the end, scoring a run in the bottom of the 16th inning to claim a 17-16 decision. The game went so long that the second game of the double-header had to be postponed.
The game provided an offensive environment over the first seven innings as team combined for 32 runs before going scoreless through seven. Haverford capitalized on an error and three base-hits to score five runs in the bottom of the first inning.
The Red Devils answered immediately, tying the game in the top of the second. Three doubles, followed by a triple from first-year Ryan Dolan (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Germantown Academy) led to five runs for Dickinson.
Mitch Helmandollar (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) drove in two runs with a double while Joe Tursi (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) and Mark Adams (Mount Olive, N.J./Mount Olive) added doubles in the inning as well.
Tursi hit a homerun in the third to put Dickinson on top, 6-5. Haverford countered with five runs behind a three-run triple. Dickinson would tally two runs in the fourth inning and take the lead, scoring six in the top of the fifth.
Dolan highlighted the fifth with a three-run triple to give the Devils a 15-10 advantage. Dolan added another run in the seventh, hitting a solo homer over the right field wall.
The 'Fords erupted for six more runs in the bottom of the seventh, taking a 16-15 lead. Mark Adams tied the game with a solo shot to left center in the bottom of the seventh, and at the time no one knew what that would mean for the remainder of the game.
After the offensive outburst, both teams were unable to score another run as the game continued into the 16th inning. Both teams had chances end the game but were unable to produce a run.
The 'Fords would finally breakthrough in the 16th. Nick Miranda singled to lead-off the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. He came around to score on an RBI single from George Hatamiya to end the marathon event.
The teams combined for a remarkable 50 hits in the game. Haverford pounded out 26 while the Red Devils tallied 24.
Dolan finished the game 3-for-8 with five RBIs and three runs scored behind two triples and a homerun. Helmandollar went 4-for-8 with three RBIs and three runs scored as well. Helmandollar had a busy day. He came on in late relief and would suffer the loss on the hill.
Hank Sanders (Wellsville, Pa./Northern) drove in three runs behind three hits. Steven Haynes (Mt. Kisco, N.Y./Horace Greeley) and Tursi tallied three hits apiece, and Adams finished 3-for-7 with three runs scored.
The Red Devils slip to 15-3 overall and 1-1 in the Centennial Conference. The Red Devils are in action again on Sunday. They return home to face Swarthmore College in a double-header at MacPhail Field at 12:30 pm.
