IMMACULATA, Pa. - The Macs' offense came up big as the Immaculata baseball team eliminated the Montclair State University Red Hawks from the NCAA Regionals on Saturday in a 9-5 decision. The Mighty Macs will now face the loser of Sunday's Ithaca-Keystone contest for a ticket to the championship game of the double-elimination tournament.
Frank Margiotta and Joey Sacco reached base early on a walk and a hit-by-pitch, giving the Macs two baserunners with no outs. After advancing on a passed ball, Margiotta scored on a single from Joey Wright, Sacco was then called out at home while getting caught in a run-down, advancing Wright to third. Josh Crowding hit a sacrifice fly into center field, scoring Wright to give the Macs a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
The Red Hawks scored one run in the top of the second on a throwing error, cutting the Macs' lead to 2-1.
Ryan Struble and Jason Smiley stepped up in the bottom of the second, hitting back-to-back singles to begin the inning. After moving up to scoring position, both runners scored on a single up the middle from Sacco. Wright then smacked a two-run home run into left-center field, scoring Sacco as the Macs claimed a 6-1 advantage.
Montclair State then scored one run in the top of the third as the score stood 6-2 Immaculata.
One inning later, the Macs sought to extend their lead in the bottom of the fourth. Giancarlo Palmieri roped a single up the middle to leadoff the inning. Margiotta then followed up with a bunt single before Sacco was hit by his second pitch of the game as the Macs found themselves with the bases juiced and no outs. Wright then reached base on a fielding error by the second basemen, batting in Palmieri as the Macs owned a 7-2 advantage.
Montclair State then executed on a pair of Immaculata errors, scoring two runs in the top of the fifth to narrow Immaculata's lead to 7-4. The following inning, Montclair added a fifth run to come within two runs of Immaculata.
Struble led off the bottom of the eighth inning by reaching on a throwing error. After advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt, Struble scored on a single into right-center field from Palmieri. After a bunt single from Sacco put two runners on, Wright stroked a single into right-center, scoring Struble while advancing Palmieri to third.
Ryan Crowell pitched four innings for the Mighty Macs following an early exit from Mason Keller. Crowell allowed four runs (one earned) over the course of his four innings, striking out two batters while earning the win. Derek Andrade then took over in relief, pitching a rare four-inning save while allowing one run against the Red Hawks to secure the Macs' 9-5 victory.
Junior third basemen Joey Wright led the Macs offensively on the game, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and five RBI, including a two-run home run. Ryan Struble and Giancarlo Palmieri each went 2-for-4 on the game, scoring two runs apiece.
The Mighty Macs now advance to Sunday's elimination game in which they will face the loser of the Ithaca-Keystone matchup scheduled for 10:00 A.M. The Macs' contest will then follow 30 minutes after.
For more information regarding the NCAA Regional, click here.
