New Haven’s Ninth Inning Walk Off Pushes Them Past Adelphi in First Round

May 9, 2018

A ninth inning PJ Contreras walk with the bases loaded helped give No. 2 ranked New Haven a 3-2 victory over No. 3 Adelphi in round one of the Northeast-10 Championship.

Both teams came into the ballgame well acquainted with each other, with the season series split 2-2. The Chargers held a conference best 34-8 record, while Adelphi maintained a respectable 26-18-1 record.

New Haven struck first with two runs in the bottom of the second. A Dylon Grzenda groundout would bring home Jack Zagaja. The very next batter, second baseman James Myers would deliver a squeeze bunt to third base, plating Andrew Garcia and giving the Chargers an early 2-0 lead.

After that the starters began to settle in. For Adelphi, Daniel Taggart would go five solid innings, giving up just two runs and five hits. His counterpart, David Palmer lasted 6.1 innings, throwing two earned and striking out five.

Adelphi’s answer would come in the seventh off the bat of Lawrence Cicileo. He ripped a single past the third baseman to bring home Lucas Terwilliger for the Panthers first run of the game. Cicileo’s hit finally ended a 1-for-12 slump against New Haven. One batter later, pinch hitter Kory Cassara knocked a single down the left field line, tying the game up at two.

Offense would come at a premium for most of the game on both benches. New Haven had seven hits, with Matt Chamberlain and Jack Zagaja claiming two each. Adelphi had chances to score even more, leaving eight runners on and walking three times. Seven strikeouts and the top four of the lineup combining for 1-for-16 surely did not help.

Both teams continued to battle until the bottom of the ninth. Reliever Ed Baram surrendered a leadoff double to Tom Walraven. David Butler relieved Baram and ensued a groundout in the next at bat, pushing Walraven to third. Two intentional walks later, Butler walked PJ Contreras, plating the game winning run and giving New Haven a 3-2 victory.