Eagles pull off miraculous eight run comeback in series win

The Concordia Courier

Eagles pull off miraculous eight run comeback in series win

By Alex Kline | 2/11/2022

The CUI baseball team pulled off a miraculous comeback in game one of Saturday's doubleheader, scoring eight runs in the bottom of the ninth to come back for the win. In game two, the Eagles were in a position for yet another walk-off win before the game was called due to light curfew, ending in a 4-4 tie. With the results of Saturday's games, Concordia remains undefeated with a 3-0-1 record on the season.

In a game that lasted four hours and 15 minutes, Concordia was able to rally all of their energy in the final inning to pull off the largest comeback in school history (NCAA DII era).

Regis came out swinging, getting out to an early 7-0 lead by the top of the fourth inning. CUI broke through in the bottom of the fourth on a Bodie Parker RBI single to center field, scoring Jackson Collins. Right fielder Calvin Schonebaum followed that by pushing across Nathan Benefeito from third base to make the score 7-2.

Jamison King held the Ranger offense at bay in his first collegiate appearance on the mound, allowing just three hits in 4.0 innings of work out of the pen. The Irvine native also struck out seven batters on 61 pitches.

The Green & Gold continued to chip away in the sixth inning, plating two runs off the bats of Alex Moreno and Dante Catalino to bring the score within three. However, Regis responded with three runs of their own in the top of the seventh inning to take a 10-4 lead.

Heading into the bottom of the ninth, Regis had all but won the game with a daunting 13-6 lead. Will Bonn led off the inning with a hit by pitch, followed shortly by a Catalino double down the right field line where the right fielder lost the ball in the sun. Richard Castro then singled to right field, scoring Bonn.

As the tension began to rise, Tristan Hanoian roped a ball to deep left center field scoring Catalino to bring the score to 13-8. Michael Dixon then pushed across Castro to cut the lead to four.  One of the biggest blows followed shortly after when Nathan Benefeito singled up the middle, scoring both Dixon and Hanoian to make the score 13-11, all with ZERO outs in the inning.

After a passed ball scored Jackson Collins to bring the lead within two, Will Bonn stepped up to the plate for the second time in the inning. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Bonn ripped a ball to deep left center field to score both Benefeito and Parker to complete the epic eight-run comeback and give the Eagles the victory.

Tags: sports, baseball, Men's Athletics


About Alex Kline

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