Box Score
MOOSIC, Pa.- The Immaculata baseball team is heading back to the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Championship for the second consecutive year as they defeated No. 3 Neumann in their second elimination game of the day, 10-4, to advance to the title game. The Macs will need to top No. 1 Keystone twice on Saturday with the first game slated to begin at 2 p.m.
The win also extends the team record for wins as IU sits at 25-11 on the year.
Senior centerfielder
Jason McCormick was outstanding yet again as he went 3-for-4 with four runs scored, two RBIs, a double, two stolen bases, and a walk. Senior first baseman
Ryan Tecco also had a career game as he went 4-for-5 with four RBIs and one run scored.
Junior
Ryan Blough (7-3) tied Decker with his seventh win of the season with 6 2/3 innings of work on the mound as he picked up a playoff victory for the second consecutive year.
Blough got off to a fast start with a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the first and the Mighty Macs capitalized immediately. McCormick lined a single up the middle and moved to third on a line drive single to right by Tecco. After a pop out and Tecco moved to second on a wild pitch, senior left fielder
Matt Simon (1-for-3, R, 2 RBI) delivered the big hit of the inning with a single to centerfield to score McCormick and Tecco and give IU a 2-0 lead.
Blough allowed Neumann to tie it in the second and they threatened for more in the third, but Blough induced a fly out to right field to end the threat. In the home half of the third, McCormick walked, stole second, moved to third on a fly out, and Tecco brought him in with a line drive single to right to put IU up 3-2 through three innings.
In the fourth, Blough got his first 1-2-3 since the first and got some help on a nice sliding grab from senior right fielder
Dom Ficca, but Neumann made a great diving catch of their own to keep the Mighty Mac lead at 3-2 through four innings.
Blough continued to settle in, retiring the side in order in the fifth, and working around a walk in the sixth to preserve the one-run lead until the Macs finally broke the game open in the decisive bottom of the sixth.
The Macs sent 11 hitters to the plate and scored six runs to go from a one-run lead to a seven-run lead. Simon walked and freshman catcher
Tyler Kmiec reached on an error to put two on with one out.
Dom Ficca (1-for-4, R, RBI) then hit a bloop single to left field that Simon read perfectly and he came around to score to make it 4-2. Senior shortstop
Ryan Ficca (1-for-3, R, BB) walked to load the bases, and junior second baseman
Pat Devenney (R, RBI, HBP) was hit by a pitch to force a run in.
Following a pitching change, McCormick had the first of two big swings in the inning for IU as he lined a two-run double to left to make it 7-2. After a walk re-loaded the bases, Tecco continued his big day with a two-run single to right and the lead had ballooned to 9-2.
Blough allowed two runs in the seventh, and he was chased from the game, but sophomore
Billy Manzo came on to get the last out with a strikeout looking and the Macs held a 9-4 lead at stretch time.
Blough went 6 2/3 innings allowing four runs, two earned, nine hits, and two walks with two strikeouts.
In the top of the eighth, Neumann got a runner on second base with one out, but Simon caught a liner on the run in left and doubled the runner of second base to end the inning.
In the bottom of the inning, Tecco added his third RBI single of the day and made it 10-4.
Manzo polished off the victory with a scoreless ninth, with a great diving play by sophomore third baseman
Kyle Hannon to help.
The Macs will need to win twice tomorrow to earn the first CSAC crown in team history.
NOTES: McCormick broke the IU career games play record with his 144
th tonight … He now holds the school record in runs scored (169), hit by pitches (61), and stolen bases (87) … Kalamets tied the program record for home runs in a season with his sixth earlier today … McCormick also now holds the record for stolen bases in a season now with 29.
