Box Score New Castle, Del. - (5/9/2015) – The Chestnut Hill College baseball team made sure its last ride was one to remember, battling top-seeded Wilmington University every pitch of the way in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) championship game for the ages. In a slugfest that lasted nearly four hours and featured 334 pitches, 28 hits, and an astonishing double play that rendered a victory celebration premature, the Wildcats outlasted the scarlet and gold for a 10-9 victory on a game-winning single by freshman catcher Tom Freeland (Bear, Del.) with two outs in the bottom of the 12^th inning. Wilmington University hoisted the trophy for the fourth time in the last five seasons, but Chestnut Hill College made the hosts earn it, treating hundreds of fans at Wilson Field to a title bout that is sure to live on in conference lore for years to come.
 
Needing to defeat the Wildcats twice to claim its first-ever CACC crown, Chestnut Hill College (29-14) used everything at its disposal to devise a winning game plan. Just a few minutes removed from graduating alongside fellow Class of 2015 members Vincent Manzella (Matawan, N.J.), Michael McLaughlin (Philadelphia, Pa.), Dominic Raia III (Philadelphia, Pa.), and Taylor Steen (New Egypt, N.J.), senior Dane Gahr (Brick, N.J.) threw two strong innings to start the contest, permitting Wilmington University (33-12) only an unearned run in the first, 1-0. Under a cloudy gray sky, the Griffin bats came to life in the top of the third, when they sent 10 men to the plate and knocked senior left-hander Ray Gambone (Bridgeport, Pa.) out of the game.
 
Base hits by junior catcher Robert Slagle III (Lafayette Hill, Pa.) and freshman second baseman Alec Craig (Hammonton, N.J.) preceded a beanball by Steen, packing the sacks with Griffins with just one out. Steen dashed home on a wild pitch, 1-1, and after a walk to McLaughlin, junior designated hitter Brendan Looby (Sewell, N.J.) beat out a fielder's choice grounder to third, scoring Craig with the go-ahead tally, 2-1. Chestnut Hill College was far from satisfied, however, as junior first baseman Patrick Campion (Norristown, Pa.) drew a walk with the bases full, bringing home another run and chasing Gambone. Junior left fielder Joseph Monaghan (Doylestown, Pa.) greeted senior reliever Rob Gore (Broomall, Pa.) with a bloop double down the left-field line, clearing the bases and giving the raucous scarlet and gold supporters a 6-1 lead to celebrate. McLaughlin answered an RBI double by senior catcher Matt Lopes (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) with a fourth-inning sacrifice fly, making it 7-2. But after a scoreless fourth, the Wildcats hit the comeback trail.
 
The top seed got two runs back in the bottom of the fifth when Lopes drove an RBI single to left field, and another runner scored when the Griffins bobbled the relay, 7-4. Wilmington University inched closer on a run-scoring double by senior first baseman Frank Samluk (Middletown, Del.) in the sixth, 7-5, and pushed another across in the seventh, 7-6. Sophomore Austin DiBonaventure (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) and senior Casey Kern (Stony Point, N.Y.) each bore down for huge outs, stranding a Wildcat on second in the seventh and eighth, respectively, to keep the Griffins in front. Chestnut Hill College got to Gore in the ninth, tacking on an insurance marker when McLaughlin sliced a double down the left-field line with two outs, scoring Craig, 8-6. Looby followed with a towering pop behind first base that the Wildcats allowed to drop, adding an extra layer of protection with a 9-6 advantage.
 
Needing three outs to force a winner-take-all final, Chestnut Hill College turned to its ace, Raia, in the bottom of the ninth. Wilmington University went to work right away, using a walk and a double from Lopes to cut the lead to 9-7. A balk and a wild pitch allowed the Wildcats to score again, 9-8, and an RBI single by sophomore Tory Manfre (Long Branch, N.J.) plated the tying run, 9-9. Raia dug deep to escape with no further damage, getting a pop-up on a bunt attempt and a double play grounder to Steen to send the game to extras. After a quiet 10^th inning and a scoreless 11^th for the Griffins, an already thrilling affair took a shocking turn.
 
With runners on the corners and only one out, Manfre lifted a fly ball to deep right. McLaughlin made a basket catch over his shoulder and threw back to the infield, by which time Adorno had easily crossed the plate with the apparent winning run. But as the Wildcats celebrated with a dog-pile in the infield, Chestnut Hill College alertly stepped on the bag at second, hoping to have the trailing runner called out on appeal for not touching the base on his way back to first. The Griffins were right, and the runner was deemed out for a stunning double play that forced the Wildcats to head back to their dugout. The Griffins came up empty in the 12^th, however, and their magic ran out in the bottom of the frame, when Freeland laced a base hit to right off Monaghan (1-3) with the bases loaded, plating Samluk with the official winning run.
 
Craig hit everything hard on Saturday, going 4-for-5 with two runs scored from the leadoff spot. Monaghan was 2-for-5 with the three RBIs, while Looby had two hits, two RBI and a run in addition to a stolen base. McLaughlin scored two runs, drove in two more, and swiped a bag. Manzella tossed four innings in relief of Gahr, allowing four runs (three earned).
 
Campion, Mclaughlin, and Raia were named to the CACC All-Tournament Team.
 
Chestnut Hill College concluded the best season in program history with an overall record of 29-14 and a 15-5 mark in CACC play, setting school records in both categories. The Griffins now await a possible bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II East Region Tournament. The selection show takes place tomorrow, Sunday, May 10, at 10:00 p.m. on ncaa.com.