SCRANTON, Pa. – The No. 3 seed University of Scranton baseball team (26-14) scored six two-out runs in the seventh inning and held on for a 7-4 victory over the No. 4 seed Susquehanna River Hawks (23-18) in Landmark Conference Tournament action on Saturday afternoon at Volpe Field in Scranton.
With the victory, the Royals advance to tomorrow's Landmark Conference Championship game against the winner of Saturday's elimination game between Susquehanna and Elizabethtown. First pitch on Sunday is slated for 10:30 a.m.
Scranton needs just one more victory to capture the conference title for the second time in three seasons.
In the afore-mentioned six-run seventh inning, a pair of walks and a single loaded the bases with two away before senior Nick Reposa (Factoryville, Pa./Tunkhannock) tied the game with a two-run single. Junior Corey Zientek (Sugarloaf, Pa./Hazleton Area) immediately followed with the go-ahead RBI single and a balk brought home a fourth run in the inning which set the stage for junior John Zarnowski's (East Brunswick, N.J./St. Joseph's) two-run single that made it 6-2.
Landon Ness was dealt the loss for Susquehanna after allowing three runs on two hits while walking one and did not record an out.
Senior lefty Jason Carpenter (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) gave up two runs on three hits and struck out two in two plus innings to record the victory for Scranton. Graduate student southpaw Ryan Heiser (New Milford, N.J./Saint Joseph Regional) got the final six outs and struck out a pair in two scoreless frames to notch his team-leading fourth save.
Susquehanna opened the scoring in the top of the second with a successfully-executed double steal and added a run in the sixth to make it a 2-0 game for the time being.
Royals' junior southpaw Matthew Moreira (Union, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) surrendered two runs on three hits while walking four and fanning three over 5.0 IP in a no-decision.
For the River Hawks, Ryan Redmond gave up two runs on three hits to go along with three walks and four strikeouts over 6 2/3 IP.
Following Scranton's six-run seventh, the River Hawks got a pair back in the top of the eighth to cut the lead to 6-4. From there, junior Brendan Douthit (Monroe, N.Y./John S. Burke Catholic) led off the home half with a double, took third on a fielder's choice and scored an insurance run on Reposa's RBI single.
Trailing 7-4, Susquehanna brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the ninth, but Heiser fanned Matthew Mancuso to end the game and send the Royals into Sunday's championship.
Reposa went 3-5 with three RBI and a run scored to lead the way offensively for the Royals, while Zarnowski also added two hits and two RBI of his own.
Stay tuned to athletics.scranton.edu for more information on Sunday's game as it becomes available.
--ROYALS--