BOX SCORE
Wilkes-Barre, PA (April 25, 2008) – The DeSales University baseball team surrendered two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, breaking a tie at five and eventually falling to Wilkes University, 7-5, in the first game of a three-game set with Wilkes University on Friday evening at Artillery Park.
The loss drops the Bulldogs (18-18-1 overall) into a tie for third place in the Freedom Conference standings with the Colonels (20-13 overall) at 8-8. Manhattanville College clinched the #1 seed with a win on Friday over King's College and Arcadia defeated Delaware Valley College to move into sole possession of second place entering the final weekend of conference games.
Several scenarios still exist with three spots still up for grabs in next weekend's Freedom Conference playoffs. For the Bulldogs the easiest scenario is if they win two games on Saturday, they are in the playoffs. The possibilities still exist for DSU to finish anywhere from second to sixth place all pending the outcomes of Saturday's doubleheaders.
In tonight's game the two teams battled back and forth over the first seven and a half innings only to be tied at five entering bottom of the eighth. In the eighth, DSU tied the game on an RBI single from senior Andrew Heard (Alexandria, VA/Hayfield) but quickly relinquished the lead and eventually the game as the Colonels scored twice in the bottom of the inning on the strength of one walk and three base hits.
Earlier in the game, Wilkes took a 2-0 lead in the first before the Bulldogs answered with two in the third to tie the game. Junior Zac Hess (Harleysville, PA/LaSalle) hit a solo home run and junior Greg Treat (Concord, NH/Concord) tripled home sophomore Andrew Feher (Riegelsville, PA/Palisades) all with two outs.
After the Colonels scored an unearned run in the fourth inning, DSU took its first lead (4-3) with two runs in the sixth on RBI base hits from Heard and freshman Mike Newland (Frenchtown, PA/Delaware Valley), but the lead was short lived as the Colonels tied it with a solo run in the bottom of the sixth inning and too the lead back in the bottom of the seventh inning with a solo home run setting up the finish.
Freshman Jeffrey Pinto (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh) took the loss allowing both eighth inning runs. Heard led the bat attack with three hits and two RBI's, while Newland, Feher and sophomore Derek Moyer (Harleysville, PA/Souderton) each had two hits in the loss.
The Bulldogs will look to rebound on Saturday and earn its ninth straight trip to the Freedom Conference playoffs when they continue its series with Wilkes at Butz Field for a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 pm.
