WALTHAM, Mass. – The No. 10 Bentley baseball team advanced to the NCAA DII Super Regional by beating Wilmington (Del.) twice Sunday. Wilmington needed to win just one game Sunday in order to advance to the Super Regional. However, the Falcons won the Sunday's first game, 10-4, to force a decisive game. Bentley won the second game in thrilling fashion, 6-5.
The Falcons erased a 5-0 deficit in the clinching game.
Jake Maydak broke Bentley's scoring drought by belting a two-run homer in the fifth inning.
Tommy Goonan followed by hitting a triple, and he scored when
Jimmy Mitchell reached base on a throwing error by the third baseman. Mitchell reached third base on the play, and he scored when the Wildcats committed yet another error. Just like that, Bentley trailed by one run, 5-4.
The score remained the same entering the bottom of the seventh inning. Mitchell led off with a double, and
Tommy Bolton next stepped to the plate. Bolton beat out a bunt for a hit, and the Wildcats added to their woes by committing yet another throwing error on the play. Mitchell scored the tying run on the miscue. Two batters later,
Nick Pappas belted a double that allowed Bolton to score what stood as the winning run.
Keegan Antelman earned the historic win by pitching the game's final five innings out of the bullpen. He allowed just one earned run for his fourth win of the season.
Sunday's first game was all Bentley from the start. The Falcons clubbed six homers in the win, including two by
Stan DeMartinis III.
Jared Berardino,
Brendan Sencaj, Maydak, and Pappas also homered in the win.
Sam Belliveau earned a complete-game victory, yielding just two earned runs on eight hits through his nine innings on the mound. He improved his season record to 10-2.
As the top-seeded team in the region, Bentley will host #2 Molley for a best-of-three series in the NCAA DII Super Regional. The first game is Thursday, May 21. More details will follow in the coming days.
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