SCRANTON, Pa. – Graduate student Connor Harding (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) broke both the program and Landmark Conference's all-time hits record and The University of Scranton baseball team (23-7-1) rallied to walk-off William Paterson (23-12) in a wild 19-18 victory on Monday evening at Volpe Field in Scranton.
Junior Braden Breithaupt (Canadensis, Pa./Stroudsburg) singled to lead off the bottom of the ninth, advanced to second on a groundout and later scored on sophomore Corey Zientek's (Sugarloaf, Pa./Hazleton Area) two-out walk-off single down the right field line to give the Royals the 19-18 victory.
Harding's single up the middle in the fifth inning gave him his 220th career hit, surpassing the previous program and conference record of 2019 that had been set by the Royals' Tommy Trotter in 2018. The Vestal, N.Y., native also tacked on a double later in the game and now sits at 221 for his career.
Junior right-hander Liam Fitzgerald (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) allowed a pair of hits and fanned three over 2 1/3 IP to notch the win in relief for the Royals, while Dasmany Rivas took the loss for William Paterson.
Things were tied at 18 apiece in the top of the ninth when the Pioneers loaded the bases with two outs, but Fitzgerald got Elliot Heyward looking at strike three to escape the jam.
William Paterson grabbed an early 5-0 lead with five runs in the first, but the Royals chipped away with two in the first and two more in the second to cut the lead to 5-4. Scranton plated six in the third to take a 10-5 lead with a two-run single from sophomore Jack Heineman (Abington, Pa./LaSalle College), RBI singles from Harding and Kirsten and a two-run triple from Zientek.
Four runs from the Pioneers in the top of the fourth and two more in the fifth tied things at 11 apiece momentarily before a five-run home half from the Royals opened up a 16-11 advantage. Sophomore John Zarnowski (East Brunswick, N.J./St. Joseph's) delivered the big blow in the fifth inning with a two-run single.
Both starters received no-decisions as Royals' senior left-hander James Gadue (West Hartford, Conn./Hall) allowed nine runs on eight hits and fanned three in a season-high four innings of work, while the Pioneers' Nick Durso was charged with 10 runs (nine earned) on seven hits in 2 2/3 IP.
William Paterson struck for two runs in the sixth to draw within three and took the lead for the time being with a five-run seventh inning at 18-16.
However, as has been the case all season long, Scranton proved resilient and tied the game at 18 with two runs in the bottom of the eighth on a sac fly from Kirsten and an RBI single from graduate student Kevin Johnson (Whitehouse Station, N.J./Hunterdon Central).
Harding (4-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 3 R), Heineman (4-6, 3B, 3 RBI, 3 R) and Zientek (4-7, 3B, 5 RBI, SB, 2 R) all either matched or set a new career-high with four hits apiece in the victory. The five RBI are also a career-high for Zientek as are Heineman's three.
The University of Scranton baseball team is right back in action tomorrow as Lebanon Valley comes to town for a non-conference clash. First pitch at Volpe Field is slated for 5 p.m.
--ROYALS--