WASHINGTON, Pa. – Sixth-seeded Chatham Baseball (30-12, 13-9 PAC) put up 9 runs with a complete-game performance on the mound for the second straight game to eliminate #3 seed Allegheny (26-16, 16-6) via a 9-6 victory and advance to Friday's winner's bracket final in the PAC Tournament.
The Cougars got the bats going in the second inning when
Dominic Colarusso slammed a two-out, bases loaded double to right center that scored
Caleb Jones and
Cooper Baxter.
Angelo DeLeonardis would follow with a base hit to center field that plated
Matt Brandt and gave Chatham a 3-0 advantage. The Gators homered in the fourth and tied the game on an RBI groundout in the fifth but would never lead. In the bottom of the inning, the Cougars struck again with two out, as
Nolan Boehm launched a solo home run to right field before
Eddie Rueda singled, then scored on a Baxter home run to right center. Allegheny got a run back in the sixth, but Chatham again had a response in the bottom half. Boehm's base knock brought home
Dominic Colarusso, then with two outs, Boehm was able to draw a throw to second that allowed DeLeonardis to cross the plate. DeLeonardis scored again on a Rueda base hit in the eighth to push the Cougars' lead to 9-4. In the ninth, the Gators added two runs via a two-out home run, but starting pitcher
Matt Bamford was able to induce a groundout to short that sealed the win and gave Chatham a 2-0 record in the postseason.
Bamford threw 143 pitches in his complete-game performance, striking out 12 hitters en route to his program-record ninth win of the season. The senior yielded 6 runs on 7 hits while walking 3 in the contest. DeLeonardis collected 3 hits in 5 at-bats at the top of the Cougars' order, driving in a run while scoring twice. Boehm and Baxter both went 2-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs, with Baxter crossing the plate twice and Boehm swiping a base. Colarusso was 2-4 at the plate in the ninth spot in the order, driving in a pair of runs and scoring once. Rueda and Jones also had multi-hit games for Chatham and Rueda drove in a run.
With the win in Game E, the Cougars will take on the winner of #2 W&J and #4 Bethany tomorrow in Game H. The winner of Game H will advance to the PAC Championship series and will have two chances to win a game and claim the title.
