Joseph seals comeback victory with walk-off home run in extra innings against Christendom
By Paul Miller
Knightly News Co-Adviser
Photos by Noah Lopez
Knightly News Photographer
The Central Penn College Knights were victorious in one of the most exciting contests you’ll ever see, beating the Christendom College Crusaders by a score of 9-7 in extra innings, thanks to a Nic Joseph walk-off home run at FNB Field in Harrisburg on Friday.
The Knights, fresh off a doubleheader sweep of Patrick Henry, brought hot bats into the game, scoring 25 runs across those two contests earlier in the week.
The Knights sent Anthony Garcia to the mound to start the contest, giving a solid outing and helping to keep Central Penn in the game over the early innings. In the first inning, Garcia allowed back-to-back singles to Gus Coleman and Peter Sullivan. With runners at first and third, Garcia was able to get out of the jam by inducing a fly out to Joe Romero and striking out Edmund Thomas.
The Knights were able to hit the ground running in the first, starting with a first-pitch single from Jamarcus Wilson. After a passed ball and a wild pitch, Wilson moved to third with no outs.
Coleman started the contest pitching for the Crusaders, but after the wild pitch, he was removed from the game after not retiring a batter. Rowland Thornberry entered the contest in relief of Coleman and promptly walked David Thomas. Then, Tanner McCoy came to the plate and singled in Wilson to allow the Knights to take a 1-0 lead. Thornberry quickly settled down, though, retiring the next three Knights via strikeout to keep the score 1-0.
Central Penn’s lead would not last, as Christendom came out swinging in the top of the second. With one out, Sam Romero doubled, then Luke Roman drove him in with a single, tying the game at one. Then, Paul Amuso walked and Coleman doubled, scoring two more and allowing the Crusaders to take a 3-1 lead.
The Knights answered in the bottom of the second. Tanner Boyd worked the count in his favor and ultimately walked. After Weston Campbell entered the game for Boyd as a courtesy runner, he quickly stole second and made it to third on an error. After an out and a walk, Thomas reached base on an error, which allowed Campbell to score, making it 3-2 Crusaders.
With Garcia able to get out of the third with a 1-2-3 inning, the Knights had the chance to put more runs on the board in the bottom half of the frame. With one out, Gabe Kaufman homered for his second of the season, driving a scorching line drive over the right field wall to tie the game at three. Then, after a Jordon McCahan walk, he quickly stole second and third, leaving the door open for Terrell Smith-Cole to drive in a run, which he promptly did, to give the Knights a 4-3 lead.
In the top of the fourth, Garcia got himself into trouble because of walks. After a strikeout to start the inning, he walked two out of the next three hitters before being pulled from the game for Jowan Morales. Morales walked the first batter he faced to load the bases for the hottest hitter in the Crusaders’ lineup, Sullivan. And, on the third pitch he saw from Morales, Sullivan deposited a fastball into the left field stands for a grand slam, giving Christendom a 7-4 lead.
With the momentum clearly favoring Christendom, the Knights did not give up. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Kaufman reached first on an error and stole second. Boyd came up with a runner in scoring position, lacing a single to center field to score Kaufman, bringing the Knights to within two, 7-5.
After giving up the grand slam, Morales righted the ship, allowing only one hit over his final four innings of work. In the sixth, after a lead-off single, Morales got the top of the Crusaders’ order to produce quick outs to give the Knights a chance going into the final two innings.
While the Knights could not muster much offense in the sixth inning, Morales gave the Knights hope with a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh, striking out Thornberry to end the inning to a thunderous ovation from the home crowd.
With the Knights down to their final three outs, they had the batters they needed coming to the plate. After Joseph was hit by a Sam Romero pitch to start the inning, Kaufman grounded into a fielder’s choice, still allowing the Knights some hope with one out. McCahan came up and laced a double, scoring Kaufman, and bringing Central Penn to within one, 7-6. Then, after a walk to Boyd, Smith-Cole had the most clutch hit of his Central Penn career, launching a double to the wall and driving in McCahan to tie the game. And while the Knights were not able to win the game in the bottom of the seventh, the eighth inning could have been the most exciting moment of the Knights’ young season.
Going into his fourth full inning of relief, Morales was lights out, inducing two fly-ball outs and striking out George Storey to allow the Knights the opportunity to win it in the bottom of the frame. And win they did.
After Thomas grounded out, McCoy came up to the plate and promptly got aboard with a screaming single up the middle. And then, like something out of a young boy’s dream, Joseph stepped up with an opportunity to keep hope alive. After three straight balls from Sam Romero, Joseph launched the 3-0 pitch over the wall in one of the deepest parts of FNB Field, propelling the Knights to a 9-7 walk-off victory against their conference rivals.
Joseph was the Weis Knightly News Player of the Game with that towering home run, going 1-for-4 on the day, but coming through in the clutch when it counted. Morales was credited with the win in relief for his dominant performance over the final four innings of work. For additional stats from the game, click here to view the box score.
Photo by Arsenio Humphrey
Unfortunately, due to the length of the first game and an impending rain storm developing before the start of the second game, game two was postponed.
With the victory, the Knights have a three-game winning streak and now hold a 3-2 record on the young season. They will return to FNB Field on Sunday for a date with Penn State Fayette before ending their homestand on March 25 against Williamson Trade.
During the game, Paul Miller and Steve Hassinger were on the call. The Knightly News will be broadcasting all of the Central Penn College home contests on our YouTube channel. Subscribe to be notified about our future broadcasts!
