Both University and Hawken earned four seeds in their respective district pools, and the two met on May 12 when the Hawks welcomed the Preppers. University struck fast with a run in the first inning and two more in the third.
Hawken struck back in the bottom of the inning with four runs and surged to the lead. University reclaimed it after a half-inning, however, and held it until the seventh, when Hawken tied the game back up at 5-5.
After a scoreless eighth, Matt McMahon sent one deep to right and saw Tyler Ryan head for home. It was a close play at the plate that went University’s way and the Preppers held on for a 6-5 victory. University improved to 18-5 on the season while Hawken fell to 13-4.
While they saw their early lead vanish, University coach Rob McNerney had confidence in freshman Aaron Moss to regroup and get back into his zone on the mound. After Paxton Laschinger’s two-run double, Moss retired the next 10 Hawken batters.
Despite a four run third, @USbsbl head coach Rob McNerney had faith in starter Aaron Moss and was confident in him to get out of the situation #NHBaseball pic.twitter.com/TZyUPH6UWJ
— Ben Hercik (@BHercikNH) May 13, 2022
“He left a few balls up in the third against a really good hitting team in Hawken,” said McNerney. “But he doesn’t waver. We’ve thrown him in very tough games and against really tough opponents and he’s been able to step up to the challenge. He doesn’t get flustered and stays composed in those situations. In between innings, we would discuss the next batters and what he needed to do those times through the lineup. He was still feeling himself and wasn’t concerned with the situation.”
University retook the lead after runs were brought in by Ryan and McMahon in the top of the fourth. But Hawken leveled the game at 5-5 when a bad throw from second base allowed for Lucas Brandt to score in the bottom of the seventh.
After the Preppers were unable to do anything in the top of the eighth, Hawken had the bases loaded and one out in the bottom half of the inning. McNerney swapped relievers and was able to get out of the jam.
“We walked the first guy, hit the second guy so it wasn’t an ideal start to the inning,” said McNerney. “Ben Elliott has been someone that we can go to in a tight spot, he doesn’t need a lot of time to get loose and handled the situation. We had a few guys out of position to start the inning, our right fielder was at third and our second baseman went to right and the ball went straight to them on back-to-back plays. But they stepped up and made the plays we needed.”
Ryan was able to then get on base thanks to a single to left and McMahon came to the plate as he sought to swing momentum back to the Preppers. He sent the ball deep to right and both University runners took off.
As Ryan rounded third and headed for home, Hawken’s James Ciofani made the throw to home. But it was a hair too late and the go-ahead run had crossed home for University.
He had the game winning RBI and the RBI in the fourth to give @USbsbl the lead back. Matt McMahon shares his thoughts on his performance #NHBaseball pic.twitter.com/pcZOn8uZ0V
— Ben Hercik (@BHercikNH) May 13, 2022
“I was so in the moment that I didn’t know what was happening honestly,” said McMahon. “Tyler Ryan has been working so hard this season, he’s been working on getting his speed up and that was important today. It showed his grit and determination, a lot of people might’ve not thought he would score in that situation with one out and being on first. I was happy to be the one that gave him that moment.”
While Hawken was unable to defend home turf, coach Aaron Brandt was happy to see his team rally at multiple points in the game. The Hawks’ bats are able to build off of each other’s successful at-bats but need to be more consistent with them throughout the game.
A big third inning put @HawkenAthletics ahead, but the Hawks couldn’t maintain the lead. Head coach Aaron Brandt talks about what didn’t work for the other rallies for the Hawks #NHBaseball pic.twitter.com/tbgOeczF5K
— Ben Hercik (@BHercikNH) May 13, 2022
“We were very fortunate to be in the position that we were in for those innings,” said Brandt. “That’s a really quality ball club and both teams had really good pitching as well. We need to be able to take advantage of getting hits when we need them. They made plays that prevented us from making those plays.”
Both teams next take the field May 13. Hawken looks to end its regular season with a victory when it welcomes Kiski School (Pa.) while University hosts Nordonia.
