IMMACULATA, Pa. - The Immaculata baseball team saw their NCAA championship bid expire on Sunday as they dropped their contest against Keystone 6-5 in walk-off fashion. Senior Frank Margiotta led the Mighty Macs offensively, going 1-for-4 on the day, scoring two runs while adding a walk. Joey Wright, meanwhile, went 2-for-5 with a double and one run scored.
Frank Margiotta led off the game for the Macs with a single up the middle. Joey Sacco followed up with a four-pitch walk, putting the Macs' first two runners on the base path. Next up to the plate, Joey Wright reached base on an error by the Giants' second basemen as Margiotta scored to put the Macs on the board. Later, with two outs, Sacco scored from third on a wild pitch, giving the Macs a 2-0 advantage out of the gate.
Jason Smiley and Giancarlo Palmieri then worked back-to-back walls to kick off the top of the second for the Mighty Macs. Margiotta then reached base on a throwing error, loading the bases. Sacco then hit a sacrifice fly into left field, scoring Smiley while Palmieri advanced to third and Margiotta was thrown out at second.
Later, in the top of the fourth, Margiotta reached base on a two-out walk, stealing second base a few pitches later. Sacco then slung a single up the middle, scoring Margiotta while advancing to second to give the Macs a 4-0 lead.
Keystone then got on the board in the bottom half of the fourth, scoring two runs while capitalizing on errors from Immaculata. Two innings later, Keystone added an additional run, cutting Immaculata's lead to 4-3 following the sixth inning.
Wright then led off the top of the seventh with a double into left center, moving to third on a sacrifice bunt from Crowding. Louis Sharp then converted on a single into right-center field, scoring Wright to increase the Macs' lead to 5-3.
Stephen DiBatista pitched 7.1 innings for the Mighty Macs, exiting after a solo home run brought the Giants to within one run of the Macs in the bottom of the eighth. Overall, DiBatista allowed four runs (two earned runs) on eight hits and one walk, striking out three Giants batters. Mason Keller then entered the game for the Mighty Macs, looking to secure a five-out save.
After allowing two baserunners with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Keller allowed a sharp ground ball to third base, forcing an error and allowing two runners to score for the Giants as they secured a walk-off 6-5 over the Mighty Macs.
The Mighty Macs now conclude the 2022 season with a 29-14 record overall, the most season victories in program history. The 2022 season has been a history-setting year for the Macs as they secured their first Atlantic East Championship, hosted the program's first ever NCAA Regional, and saw many program records be set, including the single season hits record (Frank Margiotta, 59), most single season RBI (Joey Wright, 54), and the lowest season ERA (Jason Hughes, 1.32).
Keystone and Ithaca, meanwhile, will close out the Immaculata pod of the NCAA Regionals on Monday, May 23rd, as they compete for the regional title. Ithaca needs to win only one game to secure the title while Keystone will need to win twice. Game one is scheduled to begin at 11:00 A.M. with game two to follow 30 minutes after if necessary.
