YORK, Pa. – No. 10/10 Shenandoah University will play for the 2017 York Regional championship after downing Wheaton (Mass.) Sunday afternoon.
The Hornets (41-9) forced Monday's 'if necessary' game with a 5-4 win over the Lyons (26-15). This contest is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at PEOPLEsBank Park in York. If rain delays the contest, it will be moved to York College of Pennsylvania in a 3 p.m. start.
Should that prove to be unplayable, the contest will be moved to Ephrata High School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania at 7 p.m.
Shenandoah scored one run in the second, and after Wheaton tied it with one in the third, plated two runs in both the fifth and seventh to bring itself one win from a return trip to Appleton, Wisconsin for the national championships.
Senior Neil Dutton (2-0) won his second game of the day with 7.0 innings of relief work. Dutton came on with the bases loaded and no outs in the third and got out of that jam by inducing a double play ball and a line out to third.
He held the Lyons scoreless after that until Wheaton scored three unearned runs with two outs in the ninth – Dutton ended up closing the door by inducing a groundball to second.
The Wheaton ninth was extended due to an overthrow at first base following a strikeout with the first run scored on a sacrifice fly and the second and third on a two-run home run.
Fifteen of the 19 outs Dutton recorded were via fly balls.
"My defense was outstanding today," Dutton said. "Without them, my pitching performance is nothing special."
Senior Jake Loew provided the game-winning RBI on a two-run ground rule double in the seventh. Tristan Baker and Abel Arocho led off with consecutive infield singles before being sacrificed to third and second, respectively, by Nick Goode.
Loew then drilled a 2-0 offering off the wall in center to put SU up, 5-1.
"What a job by Neil Dutton," head coach Kevin Anderson said. "He came up big versus Hopkins (earlier Saturday) and he came in today in the third inning and executed against a good Wheaton club.
"Jake Loew had the big hit, which turned out to be huge because they had a big fly in the ninth."
Shenandoah had 13 hits in the win, including three each from Loew and classmate Abel Arocho. Tristan Baker had two hits and scored one run.
For Arocho, his third inning single extended his hitting streak to 20 games.