Medaille College squared off with Hilbert College in a one game play-in game with the Mavericks coming out on top and advancing in the AMCC Tournament.
Derek Holtz got the ball on the mound for the Mavs and threw two scoreless innings until the Hawks scratched five runs across in the third. Holtz continued to pitch well following the five-spot and kept the Mavs in the ballgame.
With the Mavs trailing 5-0 in the sixth inning, Jordeyn Lewis would open the frame with a triple. Anthony DeJoseph would follow up with a walk, setting up first and third for Patrick Whelan. The freshman slugger would send a ball to deep right field, clearing the fence for a three-run homerun to give the Mavs life.
They would add to their run total in the following inning off a Shawn Filas RBI-single, cutting the deficit to just one (5-4).
However, in the bottom of the eighth the Hawks would strike again taking a 7-4 lead heading into the ninth inning and needing just three outs to take down the Mavs.
With one out in the ninth, Lewis would start the rally again with a single. DeJoseph would go down on strikes, leaving the Mavs down to their final out.
Whelan would step in looking to extend the inning and he did so in a big way, hammering a ball over the head of the center fielder resulting in an RBI-triple.
Filas would then be the Mavs last hope. With the Mavs down to their last strike, the senior put one out of the park for a game tying, two-run shot.
The Mavs would keep a zero in the run column for the Hawks in the bottom of the ninth and headed to the tenth.
Zach Archibald would single with one out in the inning and would be followed by a Patrick Gavigan walk. Lewis would connect again, this time a double down the third baseline, scoring Archibald. Gavigan would score during the next at-bat via wild pitch.
Gavigan would head to the mound in hopes of closing the door in the tenth, but the Hawks would knock him out of the game and hang a run on him. John Dref replaced him but could not contain the Hawks as they tied it at nine in the tenth inning.
The Mavs couldn't cash in in the tenth following a Tre LaRue double and headed to the bottom of the eleventh tied. The Hawks got the winning run to third but Dref would escape the jam and give his team a chance in the twelfth.
Gavigan led off the twelfth with a single to right field and would advance to second via error, allowing Lewis to reach first as well. Whelan stepped in with runners on and would bring them home again, this time a double that brought home Lewis.
With the Hawks looking to limit the damage, Filas would be intentionally walked to bring up Andrew Schaffstall with the bases loaded. Schaffstall would reach on an error and bring home a run to pad the Maverick lead to 11-9. The final run would come with LaRue reaching via base on balls, scoring Whelan.
The Mavs again needed three outs to advance in the AMCC Tournament. Dref would allow the first two batters of the inning to reach before recording the first out. The following batter would reach due to walk and it would be bases loaded for the Hawks with just one out.
Dref would battle with the following batter but would come away with a big strikeout. The following Hawk was then retired via groundout with the Mavs clinching the win, 12-9.
Offensively, Lewis led the Mavs in hits, collecting four in seven at-bats and scoring three runs. However, Whelan and Filas would combine for eight RBI's having had five and three, respectively with each having big-time homeruns. Six other Mavs would end the day with at least one hit in the extra-inning thriller.
The Mavs are now set to face off with LaRoche University in the next round of the AMCC Tournament. The Mavs will travel to LaRoche on Saturday for the first two games of a three game series. The third will be played at LaRoche on Sunday if necessary.