LANCASTER, Pa. - For the third time in just over a week the Dickinson baseball team faced a familiar foe in the Franklin & Marshall College Diplomats. This time the stakes were a little higher as two squared off on the first day of the double-elimination Centennial Conference Tournament. Unfortunately, for the Red and White they came up on the wrong-end of an 8-7 score as the host Diplomats walked it off in the last of the ninth at Caplan Field.
Time of Game - 3:01
Pitching Decision
W - Dan Galef (6-0) | L -
Charlie Bien (1-2)
Inside the Game
Starters
Grayson Walker for the Devils and Kyle Roche for the home side were strong through the first two frames as just one hit was recorded during that stretch. Then, in the third Dickinson finally got their first knock of the contest when
Christian Kim began things with a single up the box, but nothing would come of it as the game shifted to the last of the third. With one down AJ Desautels smacked a double to left, before two batters later Bobby Falese roped one up-the-middle for the 1-0 lead entering the fourth.Â
After a scoreless fourth, the Red and White kicked off the fifth with a single from
Ryan Thompson and a free pass to Kim. Then, a fielder's choice off the stick of
Dylan Posencheg put runners on the corners as Kim was forced out at second. That sent
Nathan Bowman to the box and he delivered a sac fly to center to knot things at 1-1 into the bottom-half. Walker issued a pair of walks in the inning, but recorded two flyouts and a strikeout to finish off the frame. Dickinson took the lead during the ensuing inning as
Kenny Tagliareni was plunked by a Roche offering, which set the stage for a two-run bomb to left from
Andrew Mazzone. With two away consecutive singles from
Matt Torres and Thompson gave DC a chance to add-on, however Kim groundout to finish the rally. A leadoff hit for Jakob Hoffman chased Walker and brought on
Joey Sangiuolo. He would hit two batters and give up a sacrifice bunt to have the cushions full with two away. That sent up Evan Varga and he fired a two-run single to right to bring F&M right back to level going to the seventh.
Posencheg started the frame with a two-bagger that hugged the right-field line. Then after a pair of flyouts, Mazzone was intentionally walked which led to an RBI single by
Kaden Sigmon to make it 4-3.That spelled the end of the day for Roche as Grant Burgess took over on the bump and unleashed a wild pitch to put the men in scoring position. Unfortunately, for the Devils
Derek Smith struckout to retire the side. Once again though the Diplomats had the answer as a single, fielder's choice and a walk had two on with one gone for Drew Butera. He ripped a single through the left-side to tie the game again as things moved to the eighth. Dickinson took advantage of two hit-batters as Bowman blasted a three-run shot beyond the left-field wall giving DC a 7-4 edge after seven-and-a-half. However, the first three batters reached for the hosts leading to one coming home and forcing
Koll Peichel to take over on the mound. With Falese in the box he unleashed a wild-pitch on ball four that allowed the batter to reach, while letting a runner race home. Hoffman then followed with a sac fly to knot it at 7-7 with a frame to go. The Devils were unable to take advantage of a pair of walks during the top of the ninth, which gave the Diplomats a chance to walk it off in the last of the inning against reliever
Charlie Bien. After hitting the leadoff man, a double and intentional walk loaded the pillows for Varga who delivered the game-winning single to left-center for the 8-7 win.
The On-Deck Circle
Dickinson (22-17-1) will now head down to top-seeded Johns Hopkins University on Saturday for the continuation of the Centennial Conference Tournament. The Red Devils will now face fifth-seeded Haverford College in a "win or go home" game at 9 am. A win for the Red and White means another game later in the day, while a loss to the Fords would mean the end of the season for DC.
