BETHLEHEM, Pa.—The University of Scranton is alive and well in the Landmark Conference tournament.
The Royals overcame a one-run deficit to pull out a 6-4 victory over Susquehanna in an elimination game Sunday morning, then ended top-seeded Moravian College's bid to repeat as champions, 7-3, Sunday evening at Gilliespie Field.
Scranton, now 24-17, must beat Catholic University twice on Monday to claim its first-ever Landmark title. The first game is set for 12:30 p.m., followed by the second, if necessary, at 4:00 p.m. The eventual winner receives an automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Division III championships.
Against Susquehanna, Royal sophomore shortstop Tim LeCompte (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) hit a game-tying and momentum-building solo home run down the left field line to tie the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning. LeCompte's home run was the first of his career.
In the eighth, senior Jason Lane (Moosic, Pa./Riverside) capped off a three-hit game with a single through the right side of the Crusader defense to score senior Jeff Manahan (Morris Plains, N.J./Morristown), who reached on an error, with the game-winning run. After a double steal by pinch-runner Joe Amicucci (Pomona, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) and Lane, sophomore Michael Gaeta (Cranford, Pa./Cranford) drove in an insurance run with a sacrifice fly.
Sophomore Matt Mosko (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) relieved starting pitcher Robert Della Polla (Havertown, Pa./St. Joseph's Preparatory) in the seventh inning and struck out two and did not allow a hit in an inning and two-thirds to pick up the victory, his third of the year. Despite being roughed up for 13 hits, including six for extra-bases, Della Polla finish with eight strikeouts in 7 and 1/3 innings.
Junior Ethan Rieker (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) belted two home runs and finished with three hits and four RBI, sophomore Dan Wing (West Chester, Pa./Unionville) had three hits, and freshman Ben Anderson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) belted a double and a triple for Susquehanna, which ended its season with a 14-26 record.
The Royals got a pitching gem from junior Corey Gorman (Laflin, Pa./Coughlin) when they needed it most against Moravian. He struck out eight, scattered six hits and did not allow an earned run to help Scranton advance to the Landmark championship bracket for the second time in school history and first since 2008.
Scranton took advantage of an error by the Greyhounds to score an unearned run in the first and added two more in the fourth on RBI double by junior designated hitter Jesse Outhouse (Croton Falls, N.Y./North Salem) that scored Gaeta, who tripled. Outhouse moved to third on a sacrifice by junior Matt Rayha (Willow Street, Pa./Penn Manor) and scored on a ground out to the right side of the Moravian defense by LeCompte.
The Royals tacked on another run in the fifth on an RBI single by Lane and two more in the sixth on an RBI double by Manahan that scored senior Chris Stallone (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield), who doubled, and senior David Giglio (Wallingford, Conn./Xavier) knocked in Manahan with a single up the middle.
Moravian, now 31-9, took advantage of an error to score two unearned runs off Gorman in the top of the seventh. Gorman, however, kept his composure after freshman Joshua Barfield (Pocomoke, Md./Snow Hill) hit a sacrifice fly and junior Dave Zubia (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) followed with an RBI double. With runners on second and third with two outs, Gorman struck out sophomore Rocco Del Priore (Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh) to end a potential big inning.
After the Royals added another run in the bottom of the eighth, pinch-hitter and senior Matthew Kensecki (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) set the final score by hitting a solo home run for Moravian in the ninth inning off Scranton freshman reliever Chris Rom (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh). Rom did, however, give Scranton two solid innings in relief of Gorman by limiting the Greyhounds to just two hits while striking out four.
Outhouse and Giglio paced Scranton's 15-hit attack with three hits apiece and Stallone, Manahan, and Lane contributed two apiece.
The Royals will get an opportunity on Monday to avenge a 6-5 loss to Catholic University in an opening round game Saturday. Earlier this year, Scranton swept a three-game series from the Cardinals at Connell Park.
Catholic defeated Moravian, 8-6, in a winner's bracket game earlier this afternoon to move into tomorrow's championship game. The Cardinals have won two Landmark Conference titles (2008, 2009).