SCRANTON, PA (May 10, 2024) – The Susquehanna baseball team began their Landmark Tournament run in the opening game against #1 seed Elizabethtown, playing on Friday afternoon in what proved to be a marathon heavyweight bout, as the game went deep into extra innings. After more than four hours of dramatic playoff baseball, the River Hawks fell 8-7 in the bottom of the 12th inning.
SU got going early with a five-run explosion in the top of the 2nd inning, putting together an incredible seven hits as they batted through the lineup benefitting from a pair of doubles by Tyler Hmielewski and Griffin Shenman and five singles. But the Blue Jays began to slowly work back, scoring five runs over the next four innings as they notched single tallies in each of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings and then a pair of runs in the 6th.
Each team would score once in the 8th and 9th innings, as Susquehanna put the pressure on late but the Blue Jays managed to answer each time, forcing extra innings. Each team would fight to take the lead in extras, leaving runners on base but unable to score in the 10th or 11th. The River Hawks came close, loading the bases in the top of the 12th but unable to score the critical run. They nearly forced a 13th inning as they got two outs in the bottom of the frame, but an RBI single to right field scored the run that the Blue Jays needed.
Sean McCulloch, Michael Biuso, and Tony Rossi each had two hits, while McCulloch also tied for the team lead in walks with two, stole a base, and had a pair of RBIs. Heyduk was the other with two walks, also picking up a hit and an RBI. Ryan Redmond started the game on the mound, going 5.1 innings while striking out five hitters, giving up three earned runs on five hits.
The River Hawks will now await the loser of the second game of the tournament, between #2 seed Catholic and #3 seed Scranton. They'll play that team at 11 am on Saturday morning, fighting to remain in the tournament.
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--RIVER HAWKS--
