Del Tech baseball walks off RCSJ-Cumberland in back-and-forth affair

GEORGETOWN, Del. – Del Tech baseball pulled off a 9-8 walk-off victory at home against RCSJ-Cumberland on Tuesday afternoon.

RCSJ carried a 5-1 lead into the bottom on the 6th inning thanks to a pair of home runs in the 3rd and 4th.

With the bases loaded from two walks and a HBP, Anthony Russo lined a ball that was dropped by the Dukes’ second baseman, scoring a run to make it 5-2. Then, with one out, Sebastian Pagan drove a ball to right that brought home another run. Still in the 6th, Frank Cruz stepped to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. On a full count, Cruz skied a ball to left field that the RCSJ left fielder was unable to track down. Three runs scored on the error, giving Del Tech a 6-5 lead.

The Roadrunners would give up two runs in the 7th and one in the 8th, entering the bottom of the 9th trailing 8-6.

Eric Braica got the rally started for Del Tech with a hard-hit grounder through the left side of the infield to lead off the inning. Philip LoMedico followed by gashing a ball off the wall in left-center for a stand-up double, putting the tying run at second with nobody out.

Roman Hernandez drew a walk to load the bases, then Chrystopher Roscoe walked to score Braica, cutting the Dukes’ lead to one. With one out and the bases loaded, Pagan grounded a ball to the RCSJ first baseman who was unable to field it cleanly. All runners advanced and the game was tied at 8-8.

Quincy Martin ended the game as the hero for Del Tech. With one out, the bases loaded, and the infield in, Martin hit a bloop single to right field that brought home the winning run and completed the Roadrunners’ three-run 9th inning rally.

After the game, Del Tech Head Coach Stu Madden talked about how his team was able to overcome multiple deficits throughout the game: “Up and down the lineup, just guys battling, [getting to] deep counts, finding ways to get hits when it matters. That’s what we did today. [We] didn’t have a lot of stuff going on most of the day, but at the end of the game when it mattered, we had a ‘refuse to lose’ kind of attitude. Everybody we went through, a handful of guys that had two strikes got two-strike hits down the stretch. You know, that’s what it’s about, just finding ways to make plays when you need to.”