TOWSON, Md. ? Senior second baseman Gary Helmick hit two home runs, including a walk-off two-run homer in the 12th inning of the first game, leading the Tigers (9-6) to a doubleheader sweep over Holy Cross (0-10) at John B. Schuerholz Park on Saturday afternoon. After Helmick's two-run homer lifted the Tigers to a 10-9 win in the opener, he clouted a three-run homer in the second game, an 8-6 Tiger win.
With the doubleheader sweep, the Tigers extended their winning streak to seven games in a row. During the winning streak, the Tigers have five victories by one and two victories by two runs. Towson is also 6-0 at Schuerholz Park.
In the opener, the Tigers and the Crusaders staged a marathon contest that took more than four hours to play. The score was tied three times and there were four lead changes before Helmick's 12th inning homer ended the contest.
Senior first baseman Matt Collins gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the first inning of the opener when his sacrifice fly scored Helmick, who had led off the inning with a walk.
The Crusaders tied the game in the third inning when third baseman Matt Perry, who had four hits in the opener, led off with a double. After he moved to third base on an infield out, he scored on an error by Tiger shortstop Chris Wychock.
In their half of the third inning, the Tigers took a 3-1 lead. Helmick led off with a walk. He came around to score when junior centerfielder Kevin Collins tripled to right centerfield. After walks to Steve Yarsinsky and Matt Collins loaded the bases, Wychock hit a sacrifice fly to drive in a run.
The Crusaders cut their deficit to 3-2 in the fourth inning when Perry's two-out single scored senior catcher Tim Hughes from second base.
Holy Cross took a 4-3 lead in the fifth inning, thanks to a singled by junior shortstop John Sills and a two-run homer by sophomore first baseman Eric Oxford. It was his first homer of the season.
Towson came back to tie the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning as the Tigers loaded the bases on a single by Wychock and walks to freshman Ben Winter and Helmick. When freshman righthander Matt Croglio walked Kevin Collins on a 3-2 pitch, Wychock scored the tying run. However, Croglio kept the game tied when he retired Yarsinsky on an inning-ending fly ball to the outfield.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, senior catcher Jason Stifler gave Towson a 5-4 lead when he blasted a solo homer to left field, his second home run of the season. After Wychock singled, Winter belted a two-run homer to rightfield, giving Towson a 7-4 lead. When Yarsinsky hit a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Tigers appeared to be on their way to an 8-4 win.
However, the Crusaders came to life in the ninth inning after receiving a huge break. Leading off the ninth inning against freshman righthander Tyler Austin, freshman rightfielder Chris Sinetos hit popup to the infield. When the normally sure-handed Helmick dropped the ball, Sinetos was on base. When Perry followed with a single to centerfield, senior righthander Josh Squatrito, the Tigers' closer, came in to pitch. After Squatrito retired Billy Cupelo on a ground ball to Helmick, he struck out sophomore Jack Laurendeau for the second out of the inning. However, Sills kept the Crusaders' hopes alive when he lined a two-run single to left centerfield, cutting the deficit to 8-6. Moments later, Oxford blasted a two-run homer down the rightfield line, tying the game at 8-8.
After Squatrito gave up the homer, he retired the Crusaders in the tenth inning. Junior righthander Nate Curd came on to pitch the 11th inning and worked his way out of a jam by striking out Sills and Oxford with the go-ahead run on third base. After the Tigers stranded two runners in the bottom of the 11th inning, the game moved on to the 12th.
With one out in the top of the 12th inning, senior second baseman Jake Gorman gave Holy Cross a 9-8 lead when he smacked a long home run down the left field line, his first home run of the season.
That set the stage for Helmick's heroics. Leading off the bottom of the 12th inning, pinch hitter Max Kelly drew a walk on a 3-1 pitch. On a 2-2 pitch, Helmick provided the Tigers with their third “walk-off” win of the season when he hit a two-run homer down the left field line off losing pitcher Nate Koneski.
The Crusaders out hit the Tigers in the opener by a 15-11 margin as Perry went 4-for-5. Oxford was 2-for-6 with four runs batted in while Sills had two hits and two RBI's. Kevin Collins led the Tigers with three hits and two RBI's. Although Helmick was only 1-for-4, he walked three times and scored three runs.
Curd picked up his third win of the season by pitching two innings of relief. He allowed one run on five hits and struck out three batters.
In the second game, the Crusaders jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning against sophomore righthander Drew Permison. With one out in the first, Sills drew a walk. When Oxford doubled down the leftfield line, Sills scored for a 1-0 lead. After Oxford was thrown out at third base trying to steal, Nick Ciardiello doubled to right center. Hughes followed with an RBI single to right and went to second base on the throw to the plate. Gorman's double to left allowed Hughes to score and give the Crusaders a 3-0 advantage. Permison pitched out of the jam by striking out Cupelo.
After allowing three runs in the first inning, Permison settled down and shut out the Crusaders over the next five innings, allowing the Tigers to come from behind.
The Tigers broke through against Holy Cross righthander Bobby Holmes in the third inning. Senior Aaron Gabrielian led off the inning with a triple to right center. When Kelly and Winter drew back-to-back walks, Towson had the bases loaded and no outs. A sacrifice fly by Helmick allowed Gabrielian to score the Tigers' first run. Moments later, Kelly scored on a sacrifice fly by Kevin Collins to cut the deficit to 3-2. After a walk to Yarsinsky, Holmes pitched out of the jam by retiring Matt Collins on a ground ball to first base.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Tigers came from behind to take a 4-3 lead. With one out, Helmick drew a walk and stole second base. Helmick scored the tying run when Kevin Collins doubled to left center and advanced to third base on a throwing error by Sills, who was trying to throw him out at second base. A sacrifice fly by Yarsinsky to deep centerfield enabled Kevin Collins to score, giving Towson a 4-3 lead.
In the sixth inning, the Crusaders loaded the bases with one out and threatened to take the lead. However, Permison came back and struck out Chris Sintetos and pinch hitter John Pedrotty to end the threat.
Permison, who was the winning pitcher in the second game, threw six innings against the Crusaders and had a career high 11 strikeouts. He allowed three runs on seven hits and walked three batters.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Tigers extended their lead. Gabrielian led off with a single and moved to second base on a single by Kelly, knocking Holmes out of the game. Junior righthander Dmitri Seredenko came in to pitch for Holy Cross. After Winter sacrificed the runners into scoring position, Helmick smacked his second home run of the day, an opposite field three-run homer that hit the foul pole down the rightfield line. That gave the Tigers a 7-3 lead. With two outs, Yarsinsky doubled to right center. When Matt Collins followed with another double to right center, Yarsinsky scored to give Towson an 8-3 lead.
Facing freshman righthander Sean Bertrand in the seventh and final inning, the Crusaders staged another rally. After Bertrand struck out Perry to start the inning, Sills also struck out. But, he reached first base when Kelly, the Tigers' catcher, dropped the ball and couldn't find it, resulting in a passed ball. After walking Oxford on a 3-2 pitch, Bertrand struck out junior Mike Galvin for the second out. When Hughes doubled to deep centerfield, Sills and Oxford came around to score, cutting the deficit to 8-5. A bloop single by Gorman enabled Hughes to score and make it an 8-6 game, bringing the tying run to the plate. However, Laurendeau grounded out sharply to Matt Collins at first base, which ended the game
Permison, who earned his first win of the season, raised his career record to 7-0. Led by Matt Collins, who went 3-for-4, the Tigers outhit the Crusaders by a 10-9 margin in the nightcap. Helmick capped off his big day by going one-for-two with a walk and sacrifice fly.
In the doubleheader, Helmick went 2-for-6 with four walks. He also scored five runs and had six runs batted in. He is now batting .452 on the season.
The Tigers and the Crusaders close out their three-game weekend series at Schuerholz Park with a single game on Sunday at 12:00 noon.
