EASTON, Pa. – Despite a marathon effort on the mound and a late-inning rally to keep the game alive, Lafayette baseball fell, 4-2, to Holy Cross in a 13-inning battle at Kamine Stadium on Saturday.
The Leopards struck first in the bottom of the second inning when
Boden Fernsler doubled to left and later crossed the plate on a sacrifice bunt by
Charlie Chropuvka. Lafayette maintained the 1-0 lead until the fifth inning, when Holy Cross utilized an RBI-single to even the score at 1-1.
A defensive stalemate ensued, fueled by a dominant start from
Tristan Helmick, who surrendered only one run on four hits over eight innings while striking out six. The game remained deadlocked at 1-1 through nine innings, forcing extras. After Holy Cross reclaimed the lead in the top of the 11
th on an RBI-single by Simon Landry, 2-1, the Leopards answered immediately in the bottom half.
Teddy Cashman walked and
Liam Ebbs was hit by a pitch to set the stage for
Will Dobil, whose RBI-groundout scored Cashman and tied the game at 2-2.
The tie was finally broken in the 13th inning when the Crusaders capitalized on two hit batsmen and an RBI-single by Liam Daly to plate two runs and take a 4-2 lead.
Luke Caucci attempted to spark a final rally with a two-out single in the bottom of the 13th, but the Leopards were unable to bridge the gap and the final score remained 4-2.
Marco Citro earned the win for Holy Cross, allowing one hit and no runs in 1.2 innings of work. Ethan Maddies recorded the final out of the game to earn the save.
Owen Basso took the loss, pitching 4.2 innings in relief and allowing three runs on five hits with two strikeouts.
Lafayette will close out its series versus Holy Cross with a doubleheader on Sunday starting at noon.
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