ANNVILLE, Pa. – An early offensive surge carried the Mighty Macs to victory on Wednesday as baseball defeated Lebanon Valley 12-8.
The Mighty Macs put up seven runs before the Flying Dutchmen even picked up a bat.
Frank Margiotta led off with a bunt, reaching on a throwing error to give the Macs a man on.
Joey Sacco then followed up with a walk. Later in the inning, with one out,
Louis Sharp singled, loading the bases for the Mighty Macs.
Ryan Struble and
Jay Lawrence then hit back-to-back two-RBI singles, scoring a combined four runs for the Macs. With Lawrence on first,
Maddox Stern hit a single into right-center field, advancing Lawrence to third.
Steven Theisen then batted in the Macs' fifth run of the inning, scoring Lawrence on a single into right field. Margiotta then closed out the innings' scoring with a two-RBI double down the left field line, giving the Mighty Macs a 7-0 lead.
Lebanon Valley slowly began to chip away at the Macs' lead over the next two innings, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first and second inning as the Macs held a 7-4 lead.
The Mighty Macs then extended their lead in the top of the fourth. Theisen kicked off the inning with a double into right-center field. Margiotta then moved Theisen to third on a bunt single down the third base line before a walk from Sacco loaded the bases.
Josh Crowding then hit a sacrifice fly into right field, scoring Theisen and the runners. Smiley later scored Margiotta and Sacco on an error by the second basemen, giving the Macs a 10-4 lead. A solo home run in the bottom of the inning put the score at 10-5 in favor of the Macs after four frames.
Leading off the top of the sixth, Sacco was hit by a pitch, putting a baserunner on for the Macs. After advancing to third on a single, Sacco scored on a fielder's choice from
Louis Sharp, increasing the Macs' lead.
Down by six runs, the Flying Dutchmen managed to plate one runner to cut the Macs' lead to 11-6 going into the ninth. Lawrence reached base on a walk in the top of the first.
Kristian Saucedo came in to pinch run for Lawrence, eventually scoring on a ground-out from Theisen.
Lebanon Valley, down to their final three outs, attempted to rally but only managed to plate two runners in the bottom of the ninth as Immaculata claimed the game by a 12-8 final score.
Joey Sacco led the Mighty Macs offensively on the day, going 2-for-2 with two walks, a hit-by-pitch, and three runs scored overall. Margiotta, meanwhile, went 2-for-6 on the day for the Macs, scoring two runs and batting in two for the Macs.
The Mighty Macs return to action on Thursday as they travel to rival Cabrini in a high-noon duel.
