BALTIMORE - Carlos Irizarry hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to punctuate No. 21/25 Penn State Harrisburg's 5-4 come-from-behind victory over a Johnson & Wales squad receiving votes in the national rankings at a blustery Babb Field on the campus of Johns Hopkins on Saturday afternoon, March 1.
In addition to Irizarry's game-winning solo shot, Brendan Henn and Matthew Johansen each hit two-run blasts. Reliever Dylan Sattazahn earned his second win of the season after throwing the final 3.2 innings and striking out six batters without surrendering a run.
With two on and nobody out in the top of the ninth, middle infielders Alexander Ruiz and Drew Sassaman turned a clutch 6-4-3 double play before Sattazahn struck out Nicholas Fortes to strand a runner at third base and end the threat. Irizarry led off the bottom half and saw two pitches before hammering the third over the fence in left field to set off the celebration at home plate and put an exclamation point on the memorable comeback.
The Lions (4-0) trailed 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh but after Demetre Koutras III was hit by a pitch during the inning's second at-bat, Johansen struck the game-tying blow with a line drive home run over the fence in right field.
Johnson & Wales (0-1) struck first in the top of the second when Xavier Botelho hit a solo home run to begin the frame. The Wildcats added two more in the inning thanks to an RBI fielder's choice and a two-out RBI double down the right field line.
Koutras got the Penn State Harrisburg offense going in the bottom of the third thanks to a lead-off double down the right field line and Henn cut the deficit to a single run with his second home run of the young season, this one to right center.
J&W used a pair of hits and a walk to add a run and double the team's slim lead in the top of the sixth but Sattazahn entered the contest in relief and retired the Wildcats in order in the bottom half to set the table for Penn State Harrisburg's late-game rally.
NOTABLES
- As a group, Penn State Harrisburg pitchers racked up 14 strikeouts on the day.
- Johansen finished 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and a run scored.
- Koutras went 1-for-2 with a double and two runs scored.
- Henn was 1-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and a run scored.
- Irizarry finished 1-for-4 with a home run, an RBI and one run scored.
- Sattazahn improved to 2-0 on the young season, throwing the final 3.2 innings, allowing three hits with six strikeouts.
- Bradyn Eckert got the start for Penn State Harrisburg, throwing four innings and allowing three runs on six hits to go along with five strikeouts.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions will finish their two-game series with Johnson & Wales on Sunday morning before closing out the weekend with a single contest against No. 6/6 Johns Hopkins in the afternoon.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Facebook, X, and Youtube using the handle @pshbgathletics.
