ST. DAVIDS, Pa.—In Eastern Baseball's final non-league home test of the year, David Garrido ripped an 0-2 pitch down the third-base line for a 4-3 walk-off win in the tenth over the visiting Lebanon Valley College Dutchmen. The win is the first over their former MAC Commonwealth rivals since winning at LVC in 2021. As he scored the winning run, Trent MacDougall set a new program single season-record for runs scored.
Garrido's big hit was his second of the day. MacDougall reached base on a hit-by-pitch and stole his 27th base of the season to move into scoring position. After the Dutchmen elected to walk Luke Meehan with the base empty and two outs, Garrido fell behind in the count. He turned on an inside pitch to drive home his eighth run of the season.
The game, however, really centered around Eastern's pitchers and their ability to get out of jams. The Dutchmen outhit the Eagles 10-to-4 in the contest, and they had traffic on the bases in eight of the ten innings. Ryan Alphonso allowed only two runs in six innings of work, but the rookie started need his defense behind him to work. LVC took the lead on an unearned run in the second. The damage could have been worse, but JJ Matos made a good throw to catch a would-be base-stealer.
Eastern's first hit came with one out in the fifth inning. Jutin Rodriguez laced the first pitch he saw over the second baseman's head. He advanced to second when Matt Gonglik got hit by a pitch. Leyton Bamesberger got hit by a pitch to load the bases for MacDougall. Eastern's standout center fielder laced a 2-1 pitch back up the middle for a two-RBI single.
The Dutchmen (15-23) had an answer with a leadoff home run in the sixth, but Alfonso retired the next three hitters to finish the sixth. Meehan took a pitch of his shoulder to lead off the sixth and Garrido reached on a bunt single. A brilliant double play in the middle of the infield spoiled the promising rally, but the Eagles got a run on a mishandled ground ball to the same area of the field.
The Eastern bullpen allowed only one run over the next four innings. Chris Humphreys retired all three batters he faced. Gage Curnane ran into trouble against the top of the LVC line-up, but he and Peter Melana made it through the eighth allowing only one run. Melana then struck out two in the ninth to give the Eagles a chance to walk off the game.
The Eastern bats did not have it in them in the ninth, so Owen DeLong came on in the 10th. After a pair of one-out singles, DeLong stuck out a hitter and walked another to load the bases. He escaped the jam with a ground ball to second. DeLong (1-2) picked up the win.
The 23rd win of the year for the Eagles (23-13) is also their program-record 16th home win. It snaps a five-game losing streak against LVC and is only the second home win over the Dutchmen in program history. The other win came in April of 2014 when the Eagles erased a 17-3 lead and won 21-18 on a walk-off grand slam.
The Eagles will wrap up their non-league schedule with a road game at Muhlenberg tomorrow before their final league series of the season begins on Friday at Widener. The Eagles will need to do well and get some results elsewhere to fall their way to emerge from mass of teams in the middle of the field in the MAC Commonwealth.
