It only takes one pitch for Mueller to seal the deal.
NYIT 10, Wilmington 7 (10 innings)
Franklin Pierce will take on NYIT at 9am tomorrow pic.twitter.com/PcVENv56LF
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 16, 2019
Last year, E.J. Cumbo was sidelined with a hamstring injury and was forced to watch as his team limped to the finish line in their first season in the ECC. Today, he was the catalyst and pilot of their ship that is now headed to the winner’s bracket in the NCAA Division-II East Regional after their dramatic 10-7 victory over No. 4 Wilmington.
Cumbo, the nation’s second-leading hitter for most of the season, is now hitting a robust .448 following today’s 4-for-6 performance in which he drove in four runs–including a two-run double in the top of the 10th inning to open up a 10-7 lead for the Bears. The go-ahead hit came off the bat of John LaRocca (3-for-6, 2 R, 2 RBI) to score Matt Malone (3-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R).
E.J. Cumbo went 4-for-6 with 4 RBI including a 2-run double in the 10th inning to propel NYIT to a 10-7 victory over Wilmington. He’s the @BsbLifestyle101 Player of the Game pic.twitter.com/vLV2vkKjI7
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 16, 2019
Let’s start from the top.
Wilmington’s bats wasted no time against NYIT starter D.J. Masuck, putting up three runs in the bottom of the first on a two-run single by Max Carney and a double steal attempt with runners on 1st & 3rd that resulted in a run.
Masuck, who entered with a record of 10-1, settled in after that.
The Bears wouldn’t let that lead last as they posted two runs in the top of the second on a two-run double by Matt Malone down the right field line. In the top of the third, they used back-to-back shots by Cumbo and Jake Lebel to take a 4-3 lead. In the top of the fourth, they scored two runs again this time on an RBI triple by Ben McNeill and RBI double by LaRocca. It was a mental error by LaRocca, though, as he was thrown out attempting to stretch into a triple with the red-hot Cumbo on deck.
Fast forward to the ninth inning, the Bears added an insurance run on a bloop RBI single by Cumbo, who faked a bunt and slashed away. That made it 7-3, but he was thrown out attempting to stretch into a double.
It appeared innocuous at the time with Masuck cruising. In fact, he struck out the leadoff batter in the ninth but then allowed back-to-back singles to put the tying run on deck. A routine ground ball trickled away from Lebel at first to load the bases with one out. The following batter chopped one up the middle that could’ve been a game-ending double play snuck under the glove of Chris Campbell to score two runs and give Wilmington life. The next batter, Kendall Small, smoked a game-tying two-run double to send the Wilmington faithful into a frenzy.
We are all tied up in the ninth ! pic.twitter.com/ziQOKV5mH4
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 16, 2019
Even at 133 pitches, Masuck was able to compose himself and induce an inning-ending double play even with the potential winning run on second base.
In the top of the 10th, Malone hit a one out single to give the Bears hope. After a strikeout made it two outs, a routine ground ball was booted at SS to give the Bears runners on the corners. That’s when LaRocca stepped up and delivered the go-ahead hit to score Malone and Cumbo came through in a big way.
Dean Fazah came out for the save in the bottom of the 10th inning. He allowed a leadoff single but retired the next two batters to put the Bears one out away. He allowed consecutive singles and a walk on a full count to load the bases which brought out Coach Frank Catalanotto. He opted to bring in another freshman, Ryan Mueller, in the tightest of situations.
It only takes one pitch for Mueller to seal the deal.
NYIT 10, Wilmington 7 (10 innings)
Franklin Pierce will take on NYIT at 9am tomorrow pic.twitter.com/PcVENv56LF
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 16, 2019
On the first pitch, he allowed a flyout to left to seal the game and record the one-out save.
With the victory, the Bears advance to the winner’s bracket where they will face No. 8 Franklin Pierce at 9am. Wilmington will face No. 1 Adelphi at 12:30pm in an elimination game.
