Siena Baseball exploded for an incredible 11-run eighth inning rally to erase a late five-run deficit and salvage the series with a wild 19-14 victory over Iona at City Park in New Rochelle, New York. The 33 combined runs scored marked the highest combined scoring game in 13 years, dating back to a 19-18 setback at Manhattan on May 21, 2010.
The teams combined for 30 hits and a whopping 53 baserunners as 13 total pitchers between the two staffs labored to throw 422 combined pitches in the three-hour, 41-minute marathon which saw both sides each blow leads of five runs or greater.
Siena (9-31, 3-9) put together a pair of four-run frames to take a seemingly commanding 8-3 lead in the fourth. But Iona (9-27, 5-7) rallied with three runs in the home half of the inning and, after pulling back within a run in the fifth, scored four more times in the sixth to reclaim the lead.
The Gaels ultimately scored 10 unanswered runs spanning the fourth through seventh innings to themselves take a seemingly even more commanding 13-8 advantage of their own through seven. But that's when things really got crazy.
An epically historic 11-run eighth saw the Saints send 14 men to plate against four Iona pitchers in the inning alone, while registering seven hits in the frame.
Aiden Stewart set the tone with a leadoff home run and
Randall Hien followed with a triple, as ultimately each of the first seven Siena batters reached base safely to ignite the rally.
Pinch-hitter
Bryce Mordecki completed the comeback with a game-tying two-run single, while
Sean Camacho squeezed in the go-ahead run to put the Saints back on top 14-13. Siena didn't stop there, however, as Hien added a two-run single and
Vincent DiNicola delivered the cherry on top with a three-run homer.
Three Saints produced multi-hit performances, with Hien leading the way with three hits and a game-high four runs scored while reaching base safely in all six plate appearances.
Matt Livingston also added three hits, and was one of seven Siena batters along with Hien with a multiple RBI performance.
The bats came to life in a big way this week for the Saints who produced 56 runs over five games – and average of 11.2 per game – after having entered the week averaging just 3.2 runs scored this year. The offensive explosion fueled a three-win week for Siena which had entered play with only twice as many wins as that total all season.
The Saints will look to continue to improve with another five-game week on the horizon which begins with a non-conference matchup at Binghamton Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
