SCRANTON, Pa. ­­– Joey Santora hit his second home run of the season for the Lebanon Valley College baseball team, as the program dropped a hard-fought 6-5 contest to the University of Scranton on a walk-off in the bottom of the ninth on Wednesday, April 1, at Volpe Field. 

The Dutchmen opened the scoring in the top of the first inning, taking an early 1-0 lead. Owen Berry led off the game with a single to left field, and Spencer Butz was hit by a pitch before Berry stole third base to put runners on the corners. Butz then stole second base, and Berry scored on an error by the shortstop on the play. The Royals countered with a run in the bottom half of the first, tying the contest at 1-1 on an RBI fielder's choice.

Lebanon Valley scored again in the top of the second, going up 2-1 when Santora launched a solo home run with two outs. Scranton responded with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second, which evened the score at 2-2. The Royals also crossed the plate three times in the bottom of the third inning, taking a 5-2 lead on an error, a sacrifice fly, and an RBI single. 

The Flying Dutchmen kept working to create traffic on the bases in the top of the fourth, as Parker Tarnoci hit a double down the left-field line and John Teehan singled to left field with two outs. Starting pitcher Jaden Click then delivered a scoreless frame for LVC, notching the third out with a flyout that was caught by Teehan to strand a runner at first base. Click also retired the side in order in the bottom of the fifth inning, recording a strikeout looking, a flyout to left fielder Lucien Burger, and a flyout to right fielder Kenny Palmieri.

Lebanon Valley added a run in the top of the sixth, narrowing the score to 5-3. Butz led off the inning with a single to right field and moved into scoring position by advancing to second on a wild pitch. Burger then came through with an RBI single to right field, knocking in Butz. Nate Savage entered the game to pitch for the Dutchmen in the bottom of the sixth and posted a zero, registering the final two outs when second baseman Dylan Mennillo caught a popout and threw out a runner at the plate who was attempting to score. 

The Flying Dutchmen continued to battle at the plate in the top of the seventh inning and tied the game at 5-5. Teehan led off with a hit-by-pitch and stole second before Santora walked, and a groundout advanced the runners to second and third. Butz then hit a ball to third base and reached on an error, allowing Teehan and Santora to score. Savage followed this with a 1-2-3 inning for LVC in the bottom of the seventh, logging a groundout to Berry at shortstop, a groundout to Mennillo at second base, and another groundout to Berry. 

Lebanon Valley also kept competing in the batter's box in the top of the eighth, as the program loaded the bases after Tarnoci hit a single to left field, Palmieri walked, and Daniel Palmieri reached on an error by the third baseman on a sacrifice bunt attempt. Savage then continued his strong relief performance for the Dutchmen in the bottom of the eighth, notching the final two outs with strikeouts to leave a runner at first base. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Scranton scored the go-ahead run on an error to win the game 6-5. 

Inside the Box Score

• Santora hit his second home run of the season, marking back-to-back games in which the junior has left the yard. The catcher also drew a walk while scoring a game-high two runs, matching his career-high. 
• Burger logged a base hit and an RBI. 
• Butz picked up a base hit, stole a game-high and season-high two bases, and scored a run. The senior also reached base on a hit-by-pitch. 
• Berry registered a hit, a stolen base, and a run scored. 
• Teehan tallied a hit, swiped a bag, and crossed the plate once. 
• Tarnoci tied a game-high and career-high two hits, including a double, while drawing a walk.
• Kenny Palmieri walked once. 
• Savage recorded the first three strikeouts of his career, prompting the first-year to tie the game-high in strikeouts. 
• Click struck out a batter.

Up Next 
The Dutchmen will be back in action on Friday, April 3, at 2 p.m., when the program will host Stevens Institute of Technology for the series opener at McGill Field. 

Stay Connected
Be sure to follow @lvcathletics on Instagram, X, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of LVC Athletics.