MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – It may have taken two delays due to weather which saw Post University Baseball's game against Adelphi University moved from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM before a rain delay, which lasted two and a half hours, meant a 9:00 PM first pitch, but baseball would be played on Friday night at Griffith Field.
In a back-and-forth affair between the two teams from the Northeast that could not decide a winner after just nine innings, senior shortstop Evan Cornwell played hero ball in the bottom of the 10th inning with his game-winning RBI double to give the Eagles their second straight win in Myrtle Beach.
THE BASICS
Post University 6, Adelphi University 5 (10 Innings)
Post University (3-5)
Adelphi University (0-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED
A solo home run, the second of the season and second in three games for graduate outfielder DJ Caron put Post on the scoreboard with two outs in the first followed by back-to-back doubles from junior designated hitter Chris Corchado and junior catcher Jimmy Brennan gave the Eagles a two-run lead against junior starting pitcher John Carver.
While Carver would exit in the bottom of the fourth after running into a jam in which he allowed a two-out walk to freshman first baseman Dario Sosa and junior infielder Hunter Keller, the Panthers would regain the lead before that with a three-run top of the inning. A leadoff home run by senior infielder Joe Pellegrino followed by back-to-back singles and a two-run double from sophomore infielder Albert Ramos put Adelphi ahead for the first time in the game, 3-2, but it would be short-lived after Carver's exit.
With graduate right-hander Steven Proko on the mound, senior outfielder Michael Pavelchak's RBI single tied the game back up at three all heading into the fifth. After a scoreless inning for both sides, the tides would turn back in favor of Post who used a leadoff baserunner in Sosa from a hit by pitch to score the go-ahead run with one out on a fielder's choice when Cornwell was able to avoid a double play ball with one out to make it a 4-3 ballgame in the sixth.
The response was immediate from the Panthers against junior right-hander Brennan Holligan who relieved freshman right-hander Jack Martineau following his scoreless 1 1/3 innings. A one-out, solo home run by graduate catcher Alec Maag tied things back up at four all in the seventh before Holligan escaped the inning when junior infielder Philip D'Aguanno was thrown out by Brennan with two outs trying to steal second.
A one-out walk to Ramos issued by Holligan followed up by a crucial throwing error when checking on him at first led to the Panthers taking the lead back again, 5-4, after Ramos got to third and sophomore outfielder L.J. Bohne, who entered the game in the bottom of the sixth, scored him with an RBI single. But yet again, Post answered back as it was Caron's RBI double with two outs that tied it at five apiece after Keller was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, which ended Proko's relief appearance.
Graduate right-hander Coleton Reitan would escape the eighth by getting Corchado to fly out to center, sending the game into the ninth with a tie score. With Brennan getting hit to lead off the inning, Post would have a chance to win it as he would get to third with one out before pinch-hitting freshman Brian Zweigbaum's ground out and a strikeout by Reitan against Sosa would send the game to extra innings.
In the 10th with the Panthers threatening after Ramos stole second and got to third on an error by Brennan with only one out, Holligan would pick off Ramos at third before retiring Bohne by the way of the strikeout, giving the Eagles their opportunity to walk it off in the bottom half of the frame.
Post would seize that opportunity with Reitan on the mound as Keller was hit by a pitch and sacrificed to second by Pavelchak, setting up Cornwell for the game-winning RBI double which he hit deep to left field as the Eagles headed into the weekend on top, 6-5.
BY THE NUMBERS
- With his leadoff double in the third, Michael Pavelchak extended his on-base streak to 17 straight games
- DJ Caron had his fifth multi-hit game of the season after going 3-for-5 with a double, home run, two RBIs, and two runs scored
- Post University is now 2-1 this season when scoring the game's first run
- This is the first extra-inning game for Post University since April 16th, 2023 against Wilmington University in which the Eagles won 2-1 – This was the only extra-inning affair that Post had during the 2023 season
WHO'S NEXT
Post University gets set for a doubleheader tomorrow afternoon against Queens College who is currently ranked seventh in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) East Region Poll. Game one is slated for 4:30 PM and the two teams will play a pair of seven-inning games. Last season, the Eagles faced off against the Knights in a doubleheader down in Myrtle Beach, splitting the two games with a 6-4 loss and a 3-2 win which ended a five-game losing streak in the head-to-head matchup.
