Box Score MERION STATION, Pa. – Saint Joseph's scored a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to edge Saint Peter's 8-7 in non-conference baseball action on Wednesday.
After the Peacocks (4-23-1) tied the game at 7 on a Kyle Grimes (Iselin, N.J./JFK Memorial) bases loaded walk in the eighth, the Hawks (11-17) posted a run in the bottom of the ninth on a Cal Jadacki run-scoring single through the right side with no outs for the decisive run.
Chris Hugg (Ironia, N.J./Randolph) paced Saint Peter's with two extra base hits, two RBIs and a run scored. Nick Henriquez (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) added two hits, an RBI and a run scored while Jon Kristoffersen (Jefferson, N.J./Jefferson Township) added two hits and two runs scored in the loss.
Deon Stafford powered Saint Joseph's with a 4-for-5 performance with two RBIs and two runs scored and Charlie Coghlin posted three hits and an RBI in the winning effort.
The Red Hawks rallied for the win after the Peacocks jumped out to an early 5-0 lead en route to a walk-off win in the ninth inning.
Saint Peter's scored five times in the first inning for a five-run advantage. Grimes opened the game with a walk and moved to third on Kristoffersen's single to left center. Henriquez brought home Grimes on an RBI single to center. Rob Moore (Ridge, N.Y./Longwood) followed with a run-scoring single before Hugg smacked a two-run triple to right center. The senior then scored on Mike Ionta's (Westfield, N.J./Westfiield) RBI ground out to cap the inning.
Saint Joseph's answered with four runs in the third to trim the margin to 5-4. John Brue started the rally with an RBI double to left center before Stafford brought in the second run on a single through the right side. After Stefan Kancylarz doubled home a run, Coghlin made it a one-run game with a run-scoring single up the middle.
The Red Hawks then grabbed a 6-5 edge in the fourth after scoring two runs thanks to a Marc Giacalone sacrifice fly and a Stafford RBI single through the left side.
In the seventh, Kristoffersen walked and Henriquez singled to put runners on the corner with two outs when Kristoffersen touched home after Moore reached on a dropped fly ball to right to even the score at 6.
Saint Joseph's retook the advantage in the bottom of the inning on a Brian Lau RBI single through the left side.
The Peacocks tied the game in the eighth. With one out, Ionta and Christopher Micak (Edison, N.J./Metuchen) walked and Nick Ciocco (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill was hit by a pitch to load the bases before Grimes coaxed a bases loaded walk to tie the game at 7. The Hawks then got out of the jam with a fielder's choice by play the plate and a strikeout to keep the game tied and set up the game-winning heroics in the ninth.
Saint Joseph's went down order in the bottom of the eighth and Saint Peter's went down in order in the ninth before Stafford double down the left field line, moved to second on Coghlin's single and scored the game-winning run on Jadacki's run-scoring single through the right side for the 8-7 victory.
Mike Doran (Ashbury, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) took the loss for the Peacocks.
Saint Peter's returns to action this weekend for a three-game series at Siena starting with a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.
