DOVER, Del. (April 19, 2024) – Trailing by three through seven innings, the Sacred Heart University baseball team showcased its resiliency on Friday afternoon, rallying to tie to the game with two in the eighth and one in the ninth. Unfortunately for the Pioneers, that was where the scoring dried up. Cameron Coco knocked an RBI single to center in the last of the 13^th, as Delaware State picked up a 6-5 (13 inn.) victory at Bob Reed Field, in the opener of a three-game Northeast Conference series. Left-hander Owen MacDonnell (Londonderry, N.H.) and right-hander Jake McDowell (Brookfield, Conn.) both made strong outings on the mound for Sacred Heart.
 
For SHU (18-17, 14-5 NEC), it marked the first time in seven tries this season the team lost the opener of an NEC series. As such, the Pios will have their work cut out for them the rest of the weekend if they wish to continue their season-long run of NEC series victories. Delaware State will be looking to clinch the series on Saturday, when the two will meet at 1 p.m.
 
Making a spot start at the front end of the rotation – his first start at the collegiate level – MacDonnell put together the strongest outing of his career thus far. He used 96 pitches (63 strikes) to get through a career-best six innings, held the Hornets to one on three hits, walked two and struck out a career-high six.
 
Home runs from Joey Current and Wilfredo Mendez in the bottom of the seventh allowed Delaware State to stake out a 4-1 lead, which left the Pios chasing a trio of runs late. Chase they did though, beginning with two in the top of the eighth. Alex Ungar (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) greeted right-hander Hiram Davis rudely, with a second-pitch double to right field. He scored immediately, when Tim McGuire (Portsmouth, R.I.) followed with a first-pitch single to right. McGuire would later score on a wild pitch to cut the lead to 4-3.
 
McGuire came up again in a pivotal spot in the ninth, as a pair of walks, a sacrifice and a strikeout left SHU with the tying run at second, but two away. The Pios were down to their final strike, as McGuire ran the count to 2-2 before poking an offering from right-hander Evan Bouldin into left field for a game-tying RBI single.
 
From there, the teams matched zeros on the scoreboard through the 10^th, 11^th and 12^th innings. Delaware State left the winning run in scoring position in the ninth and the 11^th. SHU got the leadoff man to second in the 10^th and loaded the bases with two out in the 12^th, but came up empty on both occasions.
 
Delaware State finally broke the silence in the home half of the 13^th. Nathan Vidmar (1-8), who had struck out the side in order in the top half, opened the frame with a single to right field. He took second on a wild pitch and then pinch-runner Chance Satcho scored from there when Coco knocked a game-winning single into center.
 
McDowell (1-2) took a real tough-luck loss on the mound after a 91-pitch (54 strikes) relief outing which lasted 5.2 innings. He took over with one out in the seventh, stranded a pair of runners and then put zeros up on the scoreboard in five straight innings from the eighth through 12^th. McDowell had surrendered just two hits heading into the bottom of the 13^th and his final line showed just one run allowed on four hits, to go with two walks and five strikeouts.
 
Right-hander Jack Messmore matched MacDonnell step for step out of the DSU dugout. He logged seven innings on 111 pitches (75 strikes), allowed two runs on six hits, walked one and struck out 10. Four Delaware State pitchers combined to record 19 strikeouts.