WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson College baseball team scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to rally the Red and Black past nationally-ranked Baldwin Wallace University in a 10-9 victory Sunday afternoon in a non-conference game at Ross Memorial Park.
Baldwin Wallace opened the scoring with a two-out RBI single by Alexis Castillo in the top of the first inning. W&J quickly countered with a three spot in the bottom of the frame. Tyler Horvat (Irwin, Pa./Penn Trafford) singled on a bunt and advanced to second on a walk by Jacob LaDuca (Clarence, N.Y. / Canisius). Evan Sante (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) delivered in a big way for the Presidents, as the senior launched a three-run home run over the left field fence to give W&J a 3-1 advantage.
The Yellow Jackets scored on a bases loaded walk to trim the deficit to 3-2 in the top of the second. However, the visitors missed a chance to do more damage as a double play ended the threat.
B-W tacked on three runs in the fourth inning on just one hit. The Yellow Jackets took advantage of three walks, two errors and a hit by pitch in the inning. The Yellow Jackets stretched the lead to 7-4 with two more unearned runs in the fifth.
W&J responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth when Nolan Lutz (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) came through with a two-run, two-out single down the right field line to score Horvat and LaDuca. The Lutz hit trimmed the deficit to 7-6.
The Yellow Jackets missed a chance to add on in the sixth inning, as Alex Tomsic (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) induced a 6-4-3 double play to escape the inning unscathed. B-W did add a pair of runs in the seventh inning to push the lead to 9-6.
Trailing by a 9-6 score in the bottom of the seventh, the Presidents had five-straight batters reach base after one out. LaDuca and Sante registered back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners. Scout Zaas (Powell, Ohio/Wellington School) singled down the right field line to score LaDuca and move Sante to third. After a Lutz walk loaded the bases, Joe Lehner (Painesville, Ohio / Lake Catholic) delivered a two-run single into right field to score Sante and Zaas to tie the score at 9-9. After B-W recorded a strikeout for the second out of the frame, a passed ball allowed Lutz to come home for the eventual game-deciding run.
Dante DiMatteo (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) put a runner on in both the eighth and ninth innings. However, DiMatteo was able to nail down the victory for the Presidents. The sophomore struck out two and did not allow a hit over the final two innings. Cameron Hayman (Windsor, Calif./Windsor) picked up the win in relief.
Horvat, Sante and Zaas all recorded two hits in the victory. Sante's home run was the lone extra base hit of the game despite the two teams combining for 19 runs on 20 hits in the game.
The Presidents host Pitt-Greensburg for a non-conference game on Tuesday, Feb. 28. First pitch for the single nine-inning contest is scheduled for 4 p.m.