MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – Charleston Baseball dominated Millersville in the Atlantic Region 2 semifinal game on Saturday, May 21, coasting to a 17-5 win and booking their ticket to a championship game against East Stroudsburg on Sunday.
Charleston showed signs of their MEC Tournament dominance, tallying 17 hits while scoring 17 runs en route to their semifinal win. They would score eight runs in the first three innings, notching 1, 3, and 4 runs respectively.
Jordan Bailey broke the record for single season stolen base record in the win after he swiped his 37
th bag in the top of the 2
nd inning. The record of 36 was set last season by Colby Johnson but stood just for just one year as Bailey finally overtook him on Saturday. The redshirt senior went 4-6 with 4 RBI and 3 runs scored in the ball game.
The 90+ degree heat gave Charleston a huge advantage from the start of the game. Millersville was forced to play East Stroudsburg due to the lighting delays from the day prior. The Golden Eagles bounced on a depleted Marauder squad and continued to apply pressure in all aspects of the game throughout the contest.
After taking an 8-3 lead in the first three innings, UC added five more runs in the bottom of the 6
th.
Brayden McCallister singled home
Braxton Boddorf to make it 9-3 at the time. A few at bats later
Andre Martinez had what could be considered the most clutch at bat of the game. He ripped a ball into the right centerfield gap and clear the loaded bases with two outs in the 6
th. It would give UC a 12-3 advantage and essentially put the game out of reach.
Ethan Soderna had a solid start against a very good offensive team in the Marauders. He allowed 5 earned runs in 6.0 innings while striking out 2. He was followed by UC's top reliever
Cole Peschl who worked 2.0 innings, allowed just one baserunner and struck out three.
Zane Lattig would come in to mop up the game in the 9
th and did not allow a run in his appearance.
Six different Golden Eagles had multiple hit games and three had multiple RBIs.
Martineznotched five RBI in the game while also being hit by a pitch.
Pete Costigan went 2-4, scored four runs and had 2 RBI.
McCallister was a spark plug on offense as well, going 4-6 with four runs scored and 2 doubles.
Boddorf didn't make an out at the plate, going 2-2 with two walks, a hit by pitch while also notching a stolen base and crossing home twice.
Tyler Dellerman added two hits, including an RBI double while also swiping a base.
The defense was phenomenal as well and was spearheaded by Bailey
Bailey who had 6 assists and 2 putouts on the afternoon.
Boddorf,
Martinez, and
Giano Zuccaro also made some highlight reel plays that came in big time situations.
The win puts the Golden Eagles in the Championship game on Sunday, May 22. They must defeat East Stroudsburg two times tomorrow to secure their bid to the Atlantic Super-Regional hosted by either Seton Hill or West Chester. That game will be played at 10 a.m. on Sunday and the if necessary game will take place immediately after. All games will be streamed on the PSAC Sports Network.
