FORT PIERCE, FL -- The #7 (The Perfect Game Poll) La Roche Redhawk bats exploded late as the Redhawks battled back from multiple deficits to defeat Misericordia 11-5. Misericordia has won seven straight MAC Freedom Conference Championships.
Scoring started in the 2nd inning when Jay Novak singled up the middle. Philip Pieto executed a perfect hit and run to place runners on the corners. Maddux Ryan hit into a fielder's choice to score Novak, but he was thrown out trying to advance to second and through 2 innings the Redhawks led 1-0.
Misericordia tied it on a sac fly in the 5th inning They jumped ahead in the top of the 6th with a 2-run homerun, error, and a sac fly and headed into the bottom of the inning with a 5-1 lead.
The never say die attitude of the Redhawks came back as they exploded in the bottom of the inning. Jonathan Spina led the inning off with a single, Joe Professori walked and Dylan Urban hit into a fielder's choice to advance Spina to third. Shane Roebuck ripped one down the left field line to score Spina, and Novak delivered a single to score Urban. The freight train continued to roll as Pieto hit a 2-run double to score Novak and Roebuck and tie it at 5-5. The Redhawks were not done as Ryan singled to right field to score Pieto and head into the 7th with a 6-5 lead.
La Roche scored 2 more in the 7th when Roebuck hit a 2-run double to score Urban and Professori. They added 3 insurance runs in the 8th. Ryan and Hoffman walked and Spina and Professori were hit by back-to-back pitches. Urban singled home Hoffman and Roebuck walked, scoring Spina and giving La Roche an 11-5 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Shane Emrich came in and put up another zero to help the Redhawks pick up the victory. Chris Hanlon earned his first win of the year, throwing 2 innings of scoreless ball in relief. Regis Sauer got the start. He went 5 strong and gave up 3 runs while striking out 4. Cam Smith and Emrich both had effective innings out of the pen in the 8th and 9th respectively.
Professori was 2 for 2, Urban was 2 for 5, Roebuck and Novak were 2 for 4 and Pieto was 3 for 4.
The Redhawks will be back in action tomorrow, this time at 4pm when they take on Kenyon College. The game will be streamed live on the LRC Sports Network.