| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E | |
| Lehigh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Southern Lehigh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
WP: Cruz LP: Magazzu
It took six hours to decide a winner in Bethlehem on Thursday night. Four of those hours were spent waiting out a rain delay and getting a waterlogged field playable once again. While that portion of the evening had its own fireworks, the fireworks on the field came from the likes of Joey DeNisi and Dallas Cruz late in the eight inning affair. The gritty performance was one that will be remembered for years in the program.
The first few innings went quietly, though with some huge defensive plays. In the bottom of the first, Balaziuk collected two groundballs, tossing to first base for the pair of outs. He would then reach on a dropped third strike in the top of the second, but Colin Cramer grounded out to JD Doto covering second.
Southern Lehigh then had its first big threat in the bottom of the second. Logan Davis and Michael Magazzu went back to back, hitting balls into the outfield for long singles. With runners on the corners and no outs, Lehigh was in a pickle. Doto then tried to bunt his way on, but it was gloved by Balaziuk, who tagged Davis out going home. Graham Sullivan also grounded out back to Balaziuk for a routine out and Logan Traub grounded out to Anderson Ryzewski at third who threw across the diamond for the final out.
Both teams got leadoff baserunners in the third, but the defenses navigated around them to keep the game scoreless through three full. Mike Magazzu snagged two grounders in the fourth to help retire Lehigh in order. In the bottom of the inning, Jackson Neeb corralled a ball off the bat of Beckett Spigelmyer, making the diving snag on the run near the right field line.
Lehigh was poised to score in the top of the fifth. Joey DeNisi beat out a groundball to Magazzu at short and the ball was not gloved by Traub at first, allowing DeNisi to go to second. Ryzewski singled to right field and Lehigh had runners on the corners with no outs. Julian Correa struck out at the hand of Logan Davis. Balaziuk then hit one sharply to Magazzu who was able to spin and fire to second base to begin an inning ending double play and keep Lehigh off the scoreboard.
Then the rains came. Heavy rain descended on Bethlehem for over two hours. With the bottom of the fifth about to begin and Southern Lehigh’s Logan Davis only at 66 pitches, the Spartans were eager to get the game restarted as soon as possible. The on-field rivalry between the two programs got heated off the field, as Southern Lehigh officials began trying to clear the field, believing Lehigh was dragging things out to try and get the game postponed to the following day, where Davis would not be eligible to keep pitching.
After much deliberation between league officials, umpires, and coaches, the game resumed at 9:30 following a four hour delay.
Logan Davis and Dallas Cruz showed no ill effects of the long layoff, as they both returned to action in the game. Cruz needed just nine pitches to navigate the bottom of the fifth, whereas Davis got through the top of the sixth in just eleven throws. As the night got later, the teams entered extra innings.
With a ghost runner on second base to begin extras, Luke White struck out. Jack Cresci grounded out to first base, but it was enough to score the runner and give Lehigh the first lead of the game, 1-0. With that, Logan Davis’ night was over, having reached the 85-pitch limit. Magazzu became the reliver for the rest of the night. He would strike out Jackson Neeb to get Southern Lehigh to the bottom of the inning.
After two consecutive strikeouts from Dallas Cruz to start things off, Southern Lehigh was down to their final out. Trevor Price was able to work a walk, putting runners on the corners, putting the bat in the hands of Austin Showalter. Down to his final strike, Showalter drove one into right field to get the game tied up at 1-1. The teams headed to the eigth inning still tied up.
Magazzu would have much more difficulty in the eighth inning, surrendering a leadoff walk to counterpart Cruz. Cruz stole second and then Joey DeNisi delivered the critical hit in the big spot, a 2RBI blast into center field that went all the way to the fence. A sac fly would increase the lead to 4-1, putting all the pressure on the Spartans.
“I was really excited to get the hit to put our team ahead. I was trying to drive it to the gap to get the two runs in. I knew it was going to reach the fence at least,” said DeNisi of his hit that broke things open.
Manager Cory Kempinski added, “Joey is a heck of a player, even better kid. He’s one of the best hitters in District 20. The kid can just flat-out rake.”
Dallas Cruz remained a stalwart in the final turn at bat. striking out Graham Sullivan after inducing a ground ball from JD Doto for two quick outs. Logan Traub kept things alive for Southern, with an RBI single, but Cruz shut the door with a strike out of Bennett Will on three consecutive strikes.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these kids right now. I could tell they were loose. Even through that weather delay, all my kids wanted to play. Nobody wanted to come back tomorrow; they wanted to finish it tonight and they did.”
“This is 26 days in a row they’re going hard. I told them I need 12 killers tonight, no matter what happened, and they did it and I’m proud of them.
Dallas Cruz pitched five innings in relief, striking out six and allowing just three hits.
“They’re a really good team. Dallas is a really good pitcher, probably one of his best performances,” said DeNisi of his teammate.
Kempinski offered his thoughts moving forward in the tournament: “Southern Lehigh is a heck of a team. That game could’ve gone either way. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I wasn’t surprised by any means that they tied it up. We just kept grinding and it went our way.”
Lehigh now has a quick turnaround and will play at Pennridge on Friday at 1:00. They must win twice to take the district title.
“We’re going down there to win this baseball game. Our intention is to make something happen.”
LSV Sports 
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