Box Score

LA PLUME, Pa.- The No. 2 Immaculata baseball team had to stave off elimination on Saturday morning against No. 4 Gwynedd Mercy at Keystone College after dropping their Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Tournament opener to No. 3 Neumann on Thursday, and the Macs (22-20) were able to extend their season with a 3-2 victory over the Griffins in 11 innings.
 
No. 2 Immaculata plays No. 3 Neumann, who lost to No. 1 Keystone 5-4 on Saturday morning, on Saturday afternoon for a spot in the championship game against Keystone.  The winner of Immaculata/Neumann will have to beat Keystone twice on Sunday to claim the CSAC Championship.
 
Each team scored two runs in the fifth inning, and the pitching dominated from there all the way to the bottom of the 11^th.  Junior leftfielder Jason McCormick (2 R, HBP, BB, SB) reached on an error, and senior first baseman Mike Lascomb (R, 2 BB, HBP) went to sacrifice him to second base and the bunt was fielded cleanly but the throw was off line at first base allowing both runners to move into scoring position with nobody out.  Following a strikeout and an intentional walk, senior Rob Wallace stepped to the plate and delivered the walk-off RBI single to left-center field to give the Mighty Macs the playoff victory and keep them alive in the tournament.
 
Senior Dan Whalen was phenomenal on the mound, throwing a program-record 10 innings while allowing nine hits, two runs, and four walks, and punching out eight.  Whalen now holds the program record for starts (34), innings pitched (201.2), wins (15), and strikeouts (192) after his clutch performance today.  He also holds single season records for starts (13), innings pitched (73), and strikeouts (73), all set this season.
 
The Macs put together the two best threats of the day against Gwynedd's Mike Di Ianni in the third and fourth innings, but were unable to cash in.  In the third, the Macs loaded the bases with one out on a pair of walks and a catcher's interference, but a strikeout and a fly out ended the threat.  Senior shortstop Ryan Ficca (2-for-4, RBI, SB) singled and stole second and the throw got away into centerfield allowing Ficca to reach third base with nobody out in the fourth.   Following a pop out, the Macs tried to squeeze him home, but the run was cut down at the plate.
 
Meanwhile, Whalen was cruising through the first four innings, with perfect frames in the third and fourth to keep the game scoreless going to the fifth.  In that inning, Gwynedd Mercy got a one-out RBI single and added another with two outs on a bang-bang play at home plate to give them a 2-0 lead.
 
The Macs responded in their half of the inning as McCormick was hit by a pitch and moved to second after a walk by Lascomb with nobody out.  Junior catcher Ryan Tecco singled to right center to score McCormick and put two runners in scoring position with nobody out.  Following back-to-back strikeouts, Ficca lined a single to left-center to tie the game and IU nearly took the lead but Tecco was thrown out at the plate.
 
The Macs would put runners on base in every inning but the sixth, but were unable to get the winning hit until the 11^th from Wallace.
 
Junior Kenny Anderson (3-1) came on in relief for a 1-2-3 inning in the 11^th, giving way to the walk-off heroics.
 
The 22 wins for Immaculata is a new team record.