MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - After falling behind by eight runs in the second inning, No. 19 Penn State Harrisburg chipped away and eventually forced extras thanks to a two-out, RBI single by Alexander Ruiz in the bottom of the ninth before Blaine Waltimyer was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to walk off a 12-11 come-from-behind victory over DeSales in 10 innings on Tuesday afternoon, March 4.


Carlos Irizarry had three hits, including a three-run double, and drove in four runs, while Brendan Henn and Tim Haftl each went yard. Reliever Dylan Sattazahn needed just one out to pick up his third win of the young season after Jack Maguire, Caiden Ertter and Traeton Sauder combined for 8.2 innings of work out of the bullpen.


After Aiden Bergholc retired DeSales (2-2) in order to begin the game, the Lions (6-0) put together a two-out rally in the bottom of the first and grabbed an early 1-0 lead when a Matthew Johansen RBI single up the middle scored Irizarry from second base.


DeSales answered back with a massive top of the second, using three straight hits to begin the frame and three consecutive walks to pull ahead. The visitors used a pair of infield singles to tack on two more runs before Gavin Zavorski hit a grand slam to push the seemingly comfortable advantage to 9-1 after one and a half frames.


Suddenly facing an eight-run deficit, Penn State Harrisburg began its comeback march in the bottom of the second when Irizarry doubled down the left field line to clear the bases and make it a more manageable 9-4 after two innings. In the bottom of the third, Haftl ripped a two-run home run over the fence in left center field to cut it to 9-6 after three.


The Bulldogs got two back with two outs in the top of the sixth but Henn responded with a solo blast to right field with two away in the bottom half to keep the home team within striking distance in the final stanzas.


Lucas Floyd got a one-out rally started in the eighth with a double down the left field line before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Ruiz drove him in with a ground ball and Irizarry and Demetre Koutras III followed it up with back-to-back two-out, RBI singles that scored Ruiz and Drew Sassaman to make it a one-run game.


Johansen ended the top of the 10th by throwing out a Bulldog baserunner attempting to swipe second and Irizarry led off the bottom half with a single up the middle. Koutras put a ball in play, allowing Irizarry to move into scoring position and Johansen walked to load the bases with no outs. Waltimyer stood in with the bases loaded and was hit by the second pitch he saw to push Irizarry across and cap off the memorable comeback victory.


NOTABLES
- Irizarry finished 3-for-6 with a double, four RBIs and two runs scored.
- Haftl went 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBIs.
- Henn was 2-for-5 with a home run, a walk and two runs scored.
- Koutras went 2-for-4 with two walks and an RBI.
- Ruiz finished 1-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored.
- Ertter threw four innings of relief, allowing two runs on four hits to go along with three strikeouts.
- Maguire made an early relief appearance, allowing three runs on six hits. He also struck out two batters.
- Reliever Traeton Sauder recorded the first two outs in the 10th inning before giving way to Sattazahn.
- With his latest win, Sattazahn improved to 3-0 on the spring.


WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions are set to host Arcadia for a single non-conference contest on Thursday 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.