The University of Scranton baseball team won a pair of thrillers against Susquehanna, 7-6 and 5-2, on Saturday at Connell Park to move into first place alone in the Landmark Conference.
The Royals (16-12, 12-5 Landmark) scored three times in the bottom of the seventh to stun the Crusaders (14-14, 9-8 Landmark) in the opener, and scored three times in the bottom of the sixth to break a 2-2 tie in the second game.
Senior Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy, N.J.) got Scranton started in the bottom of the seventh in the opener with a long leadoff home run to cut Susquehanna's lead to 6-5. After junior left fielder Brian Healy (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South) walked and senior designated hitter Michael Umerich (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) singled, they moved up to second and third on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore second baseman Anthony Simone (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley Senior).
A walk loaded the bases, and then the Royals pulled even when a fielding error by the Crusaders allowed Healy to score the tying run and left the bases loaded with still just one out. Freshman center fielder Tommy Trotter (Cranford, N.J./Cranford) then chopped a single up the middle that deflected off both the pitcher and the shortstop, and pinch runner Nick Papillo (Germantown, Md./St. John's College H.S.) scored from third without a play to give the Royals the walk-off win.
Umerich finished the game going 4-for-4 with two RBIs, Healy singled, doubled and scored twice, Trotter had two hits and an RBI, and freshman third baseman Michael Ratner (Langhorne, Pa./The Pennington School) had a two-run double.
Senior righty Josh Bayzick (Sugarloaf, Pa./Hazelton Area) picked up the victory by allowing one run on three hits and a walk while striking out one in three innings of relief.
In the second game, Scranton took the lead in the bottom of the first when senior right fielder Zach Dignam (Bridgewater, N.J./Immaculata) laced an RBI single. Susquehanna tied the game with a run in the fourth, but Scranton answered with a bases-loaded RBI walk by Healy in the bottom of the fifth.
The Crusaders pulled even again with a run in the top of the sixth, but Scranton scored three times in the bottom half to take control. Back-to-back errors by Susquehanna put runners on the corners with nobody out, but the Crusaders got a strikeout and a ground out to get within an out of escaping the jam. But Scranton sophomore shortstop Patrick O'Dell (Harleysville, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) laced a two-out, two-strike, two-run triple to right to break the tie. He came in to score on the third error of the inning a batter later.
Dignam finished with two hits and two RBIs, Trotter had two hits and a run, and Danzig had two hits. Simone also singled and scored and O'Dell finished with two runs and two RBIs.
Freshman lefty Brian Markowski (Mountain Top, Pa./Crestwood) allowed one run on two hits and two walks while striking out one in five innings for a no-decision. Senior righty Michael Villegas (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) allowed a run on two hits and a walk while striking out one in two innings of relief to pick up the win.
Scranton's 12 wins in Landmark Conference play tie its highest total since the conference began play in 2008. The Royals also won 12 conference games in 2011.
The Royals will complete the series with Susquehanna on Sunday when they play at 11 a.m. at PNC Field in Moosic, Pa. as part of the third annual Bill Howerton Strikeout Cancer Weekend.
--ROYALS--