MADISON, N.J. – FDU-Florham freshman first baseman
Reynaldo Diaz (Monroe, N.Y.) came up with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth and launched a blast to the center field fence, which plated two runs and gave the Devils a thrilling 7-6 walk-off victory over Wilkes University on Friday afternoon.
The Devils' (7-17, 5-7 Freedom) last three home games have ended with walk-off victories as FDU-Florham continues to hang on to their postseason hopes. These two teams meet again tomorrow at Wilkes (14-13, 8-6 Freedom) and the Colonels currently hold the fourth and final playoff spot.
Diaz's three-RBI effort led a Devils' offense that hammered 16 hits off of Wilkes' pitching.
James Dertouzos, (Waldwick, N.J.)
Christopher Franco (Wayne, N.J.), and
Vinny Bonaccorso (Toms River, N.J.) each tallied three knocks in the victory.
Senior right-hander
AJ Pichalski (Iselin, N.J.) got the start for the Devils and surrendered a first-inning run following a leadoff walk and an RBI-double by
James Brown. After the run crossed, Pichalski settled in and induced one of his three double plays on the afternoon to help escape the early jam.
Both teams went quietly over the next three frames until the Devils evened the contest at 1-1 in the home fourth. Dertouzos launched an opposite-field triple and then scored on a single by Franco, which knotted the game.
After a scoreless fifth, both teams lit up the scoreboard in the sixth. The top half of the inning began with a fly out and a Devils' error, but Pichalski struck out the next batter. The Colonels picked up a two-out single and then a failed pickoff attempt led to the go-ahead run. Wilkes went on to score two more runs on a double steal and an RBI-single from Brown and held a 4-1 edge through five and a half frames.
However, FDU-Florham responded with four runs in the home half. Meoli singled and scored on a Diaz two-bagger. Following a Wilkes pitching change, Dertouzos plated Diaz with a double of his own. Franco then tied the game with a single up the middle before
Kevin Sinclair (Fairfield, Conn.) put the Devils in front 5-4 with a line-drive to center.
The see-saw battle continued when the Colonels answered with a run in the top of the seventh and once again tied the score, 5-5.
In the top of the ninth, Wilkes freshman first baseman
Joe Champi broke the tie with a solo blast over the left field fence, which gave his team a 6-5 advantage.
Wilkes called upon their closer
Matt Kaster to finish off the game but the Devils were determined to pull out the win. Bonaccorso started the rally with a slow-rolling infield single to the left side, then Tassielli drew a walk before Meoli was plunked with the count full.
Despite being down 1-2 in the count, Diaz clobbered a fastball to straight away center field, which short hopped the fence and resulted in the wild victory.
Steven Smiegocki (Hamilton, N.J.) came on in relief with two outs in the top of the ninth, faced one batter and earned his second victory of the season, while Pichalski tossed seven frames, allowed five runs (two earned) on 10 hits, struck out six, and walked four in the no decision.
The Devils have now hammered 28 hits over the last two games, after a two-hit performance against New Jersey City University earlier this week.
In the win, Meoli extended his consecutive hit streak to 11 straight games. The senior is now batting .344, which sits third on the team behind Diaz's team-leading .375 and Bonaccorso's .364 average.
These two teams square off again tomorrow in a conference double header with first pitch set for 1 p.m. in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
