Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

NEWARK, Del. - A wild seven-run fourth inning helped lift the University of Delaware baseball team to a 15-9 victory over Manhattan in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader at Bob Hannah Stadium.

The second game of the twin bill was suspended due to darkness with Manhattan leading Delaware, 16-10, entering the bottom of the eighth inning. That game will resume tomorrow at 11 a.m. prior to the regularly-scheduled doubleheader.

Pat Dameron (above) led the Hens with three hits and five RBI during the first game. Todd Menchaca also had two hits, including a two-run shot in the second inning.

After posting a hit in both games of the doubleheader, Carlos Alonso also extended his career-long hitting streak to 21 games. That roll is tied for the ninth longest in program history. He has also reached base safely in 57 straight contests.

Early on in the opener, a slugfest broke out between the two squads. Dameron opened the scoring after launching a two-run shot to right in the bottom of the first before Manhattan (1-3) came back with five runs in the second. Delaware shot back in the bottom of the frame when Menchaca crushed a two-run blast to right center.

Trailing by one, Delaware (3-4) could not keep its small deficit in place as an RBI by Nick Camastro in the third and a three-run rally in the fourth vaulted Manhattan to a 9-4 lead.

Following the back-and-forth affair in the early part of the game, the Blue Hens stormed back during one of the craziest innings that Bob Hannah Stadium has ever seen.

During the bottom of the fourth, Delaware flipped its early five-run deficit into a two-run lead with an incredible rally. Steve Ulaky led off the frame with a double to center before Josh Dean crushed a shot to right. Although the ball appeared to clear the fence and bounce back onto the field, it was ruled in-play and led to Hen runners on second and third.

Following a walk to Dave Anderson that loaded the bases, Matt Harden laced a drive to the center of the diamond and confusion quickly ensued. Shortstop Nick Camastro, arguing he had caught the ball on the fly, flipped it to third baseman Chad Salem, who then fired across the field to first for an apparent triple play. After the Jaspers cleared the field, the umpires gathered and ruled that the ball was initially fielded on a bounce.

Rather than being an inning-ending triple play, it was deemed an RBI fielder’s choice for Harden. With new life and two runners on base, Delaware took full advantage. Todd Menchaca ripped an RBI single to right before Alonso worked a walk to load the bases. D.J. Long continued the rally after being hit by a pitch before Ryan Cuneo laced a two-run double to left center that knotted the game at nine. Then, Dameron capped the inning with a two-run single to right that gave the squad an 11-9 advantage.

After taking over for Blue Hen starter Brian Rorick in the fourth, reliever Devon Pearson settled in on the mound. He kept the potent Jasper attack quiet in the fifth and sixth before the Delaware offense returned to do a little more damage.

In the bottom of the sixth, the squad opened up the frame with four straight singles, including back-to-back RBI knocks by Cuneo and Dameron. Later, after Ulaky worked a walk to load the bases, a wild pitch brought in Dameron before a double by Anderson chased in Ulaky to give the squad a 15-9 cushion.

Three outs away from a victory, Pearson got two on a phenomenal defensive play. With a runner on first, Mark Onorati lined a smash back to the mound, but Pearson snared it, spun, and nailed Kevin Nieto leaning off first for the double play. Three batters later, he induced a game-ending ground out to seal the victory and pick up his first win of the season.

Pearson eventually tossed 3.2 innings of relief and scattered three hits and one unearned run. Mike Gazzola (1-1) took the loss for Manhattan after allowing 11 earned runs in 3.2 innings of work.

Along with Dameron's three hits, Cuneo, Long, and Menchaca all chipped in with two. Mike McCann led the Jasper attack, going 3-for-4 with a run scored.