LOUDONVILLE, NY – Kyle Maves dropped a routine fly ball that would have ended the inning which allowed
Brendan Conley to scamper home all the way from first as Siena Baseball scored a stunning 5-4 walk-off win in 13 innings over Quinnipiac at Connors Park.
Ryan Bellomo and
Dylan D'Anna combined to fire nine strong innings of relief for the Saints which captured a much-needed series victory.
Conley started the two-out rally by taking one for the team off an errant inside pitch by Andrew Workman.
Matt Hamel then skied an 0-1 pitch to right field, which appeared destined to send the game to a 14
th inning. But Maves misjudged the ball and Conley, who was running on contact with two outs, sprinted home and dove head first ahead of the throw for the winning run.
Veterans Bellomo and D'Anna played a vital role in the victory for Siena (11-24, 6-9) which prevailed in the program's longest game in three years, dating back to a 9-8 win in 14 innings over Marist on May 19, 2016 here in Loudonville. The duo combined to scatted six hits and just one run over their nine innings of work against the potent Quinnipiac (16-22, 8-4) lineup, while striking out seven without issuing a walk.
Zach Durfee,
Brian Kelly,
Craig Corliss, and Conley registered two hits apiece for the Saints which secured their fifth one-run victory in 13 such games this spring. Durfee extended his on-base streak to 23 games, while Kelly has now reached safely in 21 consecutive games.
The teams combined to score five of the game's nine runs in the first inning in a series where all three games were decided by just one run. An RBI single and a fielding error staked the Bobcats to a quick 2-0 lead in the opening frame, only to have the advantage wiped out by a three-run bottom of the first from Siena.
Alex Milone and
Brendan Conley each recorded RBI singles, and the duo executed a successful double steal of second and home to put the Saints in front.
Quinnipiac tied the game on a wild pitch in the fourth inning, and reclaimed a 4-3 lead in the sixth on an RBI single by MAAC Preseason Player of the Year Liam Scafariello. But Corliss knotted the contest one final time in regulation on an RBI single in the home half of the sixth.
Chris Enns, Colin Donnelly, and Workman combined to strikeout 16 batters for the Bobcats which had entered the weekend tied atop the MAAC Standings with Manhattan.
Catapulted back into the heart of the MAAC Tournament race following their vital weekend result, Siena opens a busy five-game week with their lone road contest of the stretch at defending Northeast Conference Champion LIU Brooklyn Tuesday at 3 p.m.
