Boyertown, PA (May 19, 2005) – Senior Ian Hauze (Phoenixville, PA/Phoenixville) hit a two-run walk-off home run to lead the DeSales University baseball team past Messiah College, 5-4, in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament.
Hauze jumped all over the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the ninth inning and hit his game-winner over the left field fence. The win advances DeSales (34-8) to the winner’s bracket as it awaits the winner of the Alvernia/TCNJ game, which will be played on Friday evening at 7:00 pm in Bear Stadium. The loss drops the Falcons (27-13-1) to the loser’s bracket as they will face Franklin & Marshall College on Friday at 11:00 am.
The win also breaks the school-record for consecutive wins as the Bulldogs have now won 13-straight and Hauze’s homer in the ninth extended his hitting streak to 21-games. He now leads the team with 45 RBI’s and has five home runs. Sophomore Jon Kensecki (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) earned the win in relief to improve to 4-0. He went 2.1 innings allowing three hits, one run and striking out two.
Messiah had taken a 2-0 lead with two runs in the third inning on four hits and almost took a 3-0 lead but junior Derek Miller (Green Lane, PA/Upper Perkiomen) recorded the third out of the inning by throwing out Tyler Hollenbach at the plate after a single by Robert Revercomb. MC extended the lead to 3-0 on a sacrifice fly by Hollenbach in the fifth.
The Bulldogs had its first rally in the bottom of the seventh inning as they scored three times to tie the score. The tying runs came on a single from Luke Pisker (Oley, PA/Oley), two walks, a hit batter, a sacrifice fly by Hauze and an RBI groundout from senior Kyle Hoffman (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown).
The game remained tied until the ninth inning when Messiah’s Chris Heisey hit a solo home run to left field to give the Falcons a 4-3 lead just before Hauze ended it with his two-run walk-off. Heisey finished the game 5-for-5 featuring that home run, two doubles and two singles.
Senior Anthony Palmieri (Morgantown, PA/Upper Merion) started the game for the Bulldogs and lasted 6.2 innings, scattering 10 hits, allowing three runs and striking out eight. The Falcon’s Dave Henninger suffered the loss, lasting 8.2 innings allowing seven hits and five runs to go along with 11 strikeouts.
