COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Muhlenberg pushed across a run in the top of the tenth inning as the Mules (6-9, 1-2 Centennial) defeated Ursinus (10-3, 0-1 Centennial) 6-5 in the opener of a two-game series on Wednesday afternoon at Thomas Field.
The run spoiled a furious rally by Ursinus, who scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth with two outs to force the game into extra frames.
For Ursinus, freshman left fielder Travis Kozak (Farmington, Conn./Avon Old Farms) went 3-for-4 with a run scored and a RBI, while sophomore right fielder Timo Muro (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) had two hits and scored a run.
Senior pinch hitter James Hoff (Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford) had a two-run single to left field in the ninth which tied the game at 5-all.
Errors were the main culprit in the loss, as the Bears committed five errors which led to four of Muhlenberg's six runs being unearned.
Muhlenberg got two hits from designated hitter Brett Rosen and right fielder Nick Plinio.
Muhlenberg got on the board in the first when Plinio doubled to right center scoring Rosen for a 1-0 lead. Muhlenberg would tack on two more in the fifth on a wild pitch and a passed ball. In the sixth, the Mules went up 5-0 when catcher Conor McDermott had a two-run single scoring Rosen and left fielder John Icaza.
Ursinus got two back in the seventh when Muro hit a sacrifice fly scoring sophomore centerfielder Jose Colon (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore), followed by a RBI single by Kozak that scored sophomore shortstop CJ Diana (Chester, N.J./Seton Hall Prep).
In the ninth, Muro got the Bears within two when he scored on an error on a groundout that would have ended the game, as he doubled to right center and then scored on an error.
On the mound, sophomore left hander Seth Regensburg (Pottstown, Pa./The Hill School) pitched six innings, fanning six and walking two while allowed just two earned runs. Senior Alex Manacher (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) took the loss in the 10th, falling to 2-2. He allowed just two hits.
For Muhlenberg, Phillip Balseca got the win as he struck out two and walked one in two innings of work. Starter Troy Elias struck out one and walked two in 6.1 innings of work.
The two teams complete their series tomorrow at Cedarcreek Park.