Box Score

ANNVILLE, Pa. - Joe Soupik's walk-off sacrifice fly capped off a dramatic 12th-inning comeback victory as Lebanon Valley beat Arcadia, 11-10, clinching a berth in the Commonwealth Conference playoffs.

The Dutchmen (17-14-1, 8-2 CC) rallied back from being down 10-8 in the 12th, tying the game on a bases-loaded single by Grant Wiest before Soupik drilled a ball to deep center to score Dustin Deibert, ending the three-hour and forty-five minute marathon.

LVC returns to the Commonwealth Conference playoffs just a year winning only one game in conference play. Widener's 5-1 win over Elizabethtown on Friday dropped the league-leading Blue Jays into a tie for first with Lebanon Valley.

Arcadia had broken an 8-8 stalemate in the top of the 12th when Matt Pempkowski and Mike McElhatton scored on Dan Morris' two-run double.

LVC combined five pitchers, with Nate Blough (4-1) throwing the 12th to ultimately get the win. Shane Specht went 3.2 innings in the start, with Caleb Fick picking up the bulk of relief (5.1 IP) and Wiest and Pete Moro each throwing an inning.

Arcadia's Rich Schlamowitz (0-4) took the loss after replacing Joe Rafanelli, who pitched four superb no-hit innings of relief for the Knights. Steve Romond pitched five and a third to start.

Both teams had a big second innings, with Arcadia putting four runs across before LVC pared the lead with three of their own on Deibert's bases-loaded double.

Arcadia went up 5-3 in the third, but Wiest made it 5-4 after he doubled, stole third, and scored on a throwing error by the catcher in the bottom of the inning.

After another Arcadia run, Brent Ruminski's sac fly in the fourth kept it a one-run lead, and the Dutchmen tied the game when Wiest homered to the deepest part of the park in the fifth.

The see-saw continued as the Knights' Morris drove in Pempkowski to retake the lead in the sixth, but Soupik and Derek Helwig drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks to go up 8-7.

Fick was effective as LVC tried to hold the lead, but Arcadia punched through in the eighth, rallying with two outs with Pempkowski's single, stolen base, and McElhatton's RBI single to plate the tying run.

From there is became a pitchers' duel until the 12th when the Knights again rallied with two gone to score both of their runs.

A defensive miscue cost Arcadia in the bottom of the inning; with one out and runners on first and second, Deibert hit into a fielder's choice, but a dropped ball at second let Dylan Holland reach safely to load the bases. On the next at-bat, Wiest blooped a single to right to score the lead runners, and after Colt Zarilla was intentionally put on, Soupik walked off with the game-winning sac fly.

NEXT UP: LVC will make the return trip to Arcadia Saturday at noon for a doubleheader.