Valley Forge Baseball took on Marywood University at 4 PM back on Friday March 1st. Coming off a split against Penn State Hazleton, the Patriots were looking to make a statement against a well-rounded Marywood team. Our boys were able to take it in a tight one, winning 6-5 in Walk Off Fashion!

Brandon Dalmado started on the bump for the Patriots, coming off an excellent outing against Penn State Scranton, he was looking to keep his success going. Other than a couple walks, Marywood was unable to get any other runners on in the top of the 1st inning and the Patriots were able to get out of the 1st stranding two runners. The bottom of the 1st saw Carlos Terc get on base with a leadoff walk and then quickly stole second base. Joshua Nieberlein grounded out to second for the first out of the inning, advancing the runner to third base. Colin Orndorff was able to score the runner on a single, giving Valley Forge the early 1-0 lead. A line drive to right field and a strikeout brought the 2nd and 3rd outs of the inning. Brandon Dalmado went back out for the 2nd and was able to keep the game scoreless after letting up a single and ringing a batter up for his first strikeout of the game. The bottom of the 2nd saw Valley Forge grab a single from Brayden Tunnell, but the Patriots were unable to score. Marywood threatened in the top of the 3rd after a leadoff double, but a flyout to right field with two outs got the Patriots out of the inning. In the bottom half, Colin Orndorff smacked a double for his second hit of the game. Valley Forge was unable to score him however, leaving the score at 1-0 after 3 innings. The 4th through 6th innings saw a back and forth pitching battle, a couple hits scattered here and there but no runs were scored in what was still a 1-0 ballgame. 

The top of the 7th saw a leadoff single, a stolen bag, and a wild pitch advanced the runner to 3rd base. Another single brought in the runner on third to tie the game at 1-1. Brandon Dalmado was able to clean up the mess and got the next three straight hitters out to finish the inning. The Patriots tried to get back on the board in the bottom half, but left a man stranded on second base after a 1 out walk from Liam Prepetit. Kaden Gonzales came in to pitch in the top of the 8th after seven strong innings from the starter. He started strong with a leadoff flyout to center field, but could not keep it going. Giving up back-2-back singles and a passed ball bringing runners to 1st and 3rd with 1 out. A clutch triple scored both runners and an error let the hitter score to give Marywood the lead at 1-4. Another walk, double, and walk saw the bases loaded once again and a flyout to center saw another run score to bring Marywood's total to 5. A popout to the Patriot's catcher closed out the long inning, in a 1-5 game. Josh Zollo started the Patriot's bottom half of the 8th hot on a single. After being pinch run for by Aaron Zapata, a Carlos Terc walk brought runners to 1st and 2nd base with no outs. A CLUTCH Joshua Nieberlein double brought in both runners to bring the deficit to just 3 runs. Colin Orndorff brought in another run on a groundout to second, advancing a runner to third. Another double was sent into the gap for the Patriots as Patrick Trevillion helped cut the deficit to just 1 run. After a walk and a single to load the bases, Jeremy Reimel pinch hit for Alex Shim. An infield single saw everyone safe and brought in the tying run to help Valley Forge answer the 4 run top of the 8th with 4 of their own. A strikeout saw Marywood escape the inning in a 5-5 game. Jacob Dahlman came in to pitch a quick 9th inning for the Patriots as he was able to get a pop up to first and two flyouts in a row to left to finish the inning. After an early strikeout in the bottom half of the 9th, Joshua Nieberlein was able to reach base once again on a walk. After a solid at bat by Colin Orndorff, he was able to slice one down the right field line just barely staying fair to advance the runner to third and taking second base himself. After a mis throw to third, Joshua Nieberlein was able to slide in safely at the plate and the Patriots walked off the game 6-5!

Colin Orndorff led the team in hits (3) and RBIs (3). Brandon Dalmado had a fantastic start, going 7 innings giving up only 1 run on 8 hits while tallying 4 strikeouts.

The Patriots go on their Spring Break trip for the next 5 games in Myrtle Beach, SC.