SCRANTON, Pa. --- The second seeded Moravian College baseball team posted a 1-0 victory over third seed The Catholic University of America on a walk-off, on-out home run by senior center fielder Austin Markowski being hosted by The University of Scranton at Volpe Field on the Quinn Athletics Campus Friday evening.
The Greyhounds, now 21-19-1 on the season, will face top seed Susquehanna University in the second day of the 2019 Landmark Conference Tournament in a winner's bracket game beginning at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 11.
The Hounds had four hits led by Markowski's home run, his team-leading fifth homer of the season and the 20th of his career as he tied Bob Frey's school record. Senior left fielder Mike Mittl was 2-for-4 in the contest while sophomore shortstop Michael Miceli went 1-for-3. Junior second baseman Ian Csencsits drew three of the 10 base on balls Moravian had in the contest while junior right fielder Carmine Palummo walked twice.
Senior Rhett Jacoby made the start on the mound and recorded 11 strikeouts and just three hits and one walk over ninth innings, the fourth double-digit strikeout game of his career. Jacoby now has 221 strikeouts in 256 innings in his career. Senior Tyler Caraway came on in the top of the 10th frame for the Greyhounds and struck out the side to improve to 7-1 on the year.
Catholic would get a runner to third base in the top of the first inning before Jacoby struck out the side.
Moravian, which didn't get a hit until the fourth inning, left the bases loaded in both the second and third innings after six walks between the two fames. The Hounds would leave another two runners on base in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Neither team was able to push a run across the plate in the regulation nine innings that saw a 20-minute rain delay iwth Moravian batting in the bottom of the seventh, and both squads each only had three hits through nine innings with the Greyhounds leaving 12 runners on and the Cardinals stranding five through nine innings.
Markowski would rip a 1-1 pitch on a line drive over the left field to win the game.
