SELINSGROVE, Pa. - The Wilkes University baseball team came back from an eight-run deficit in the top of the ninth inning to win a thrilling 23-22 game against the Susquehanna University River Hawks on Saturday afternoon.

The Colonels improve to 5-5 (2-0 Landmark) with the win, while the River Hawks drop to 9-5 (0-2 Landmark) after the loss.

The game started off well for the Colonels as they brought 11 men to the plate, and scored six runs in the top of the first. Nathan Loch (Effort, PA/Pleasant Valley), Jack Smale (Kunkletown, PA/Pleasant Valley), and Jack Mathis (Exeter PA/Wyoming Area) each singled to load the bases with nobody out, and Andres Cruz (Wayne, PA/Radnor) reached base on an error in the infield to bring home Loch and get Wilkes on the board.

Two batters later, Devin Markert (Pittston, PA/Pittston Area) hit a two-RBI double off the wall in right-center field to make it a 3-0 game, then Matthew Show (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) singled to bring Markert home and make it 4-0. Loch returned to the plate after a Jacob Cambria (Elysburg, PA/Southern Columbia) walk, and hit a two-RBI single up the middle to bring in the final two runs of the frame.

After a scoreless bottom of the first by Susquehanna, Wilkes tacked on another three runs their next time up to bat. Mathis led off the second with a double, and Cruz brought him home with a single to center field. 

Cruz was caught stealing for the first out of the inning and Jake Miller (Chambersburg, PA/James Buchanan) struck out for the second out, but Markert and Jeremiah Atwell (Eastlake, OH/Willoughby South) kept the line moving with back-to-back singles. Show would bring both of them home with a two-RBI double to left-center to extend the lead to 9-0 Wilkes.

The Colonels were in complete control of the game, but the River Hawks would immediately rally for nine runs to tie the game in the bottom of the second. Wilkes' starting pitcher Hunter Lawall (West Wyoming, PA/Wyoming Area) surrendered an RBI double to Lucas Zachesky to start the rally, and the next two runs were walked in.

That got Lawall pulled for Tyler Uram (Carbondale Twp, PA/Lakeland) out of the bullpen, but the River Hawks kept attacking. A Dylan Heyduk single, a Michael Gagliardi fielder's choice, and an Andrew Haussman single brought in the next three runs. However, the killing blow was a two-run homer by Paul Daly to tie the game with one out.

Uram got the final two out of the inning soon after, but the damage was done. Cruz restored some order for the Colonels with a solo home run in the third to make it 10-9, but Gagliardi hit a three-run dinger in Susquehanna's half of the inning to put the hosts up for the first time.

It looked like the Colonels would eventually succumb to defeat as the game went on. They added on another three runs over the next five innings of action, but Susquehanna never took their foot off the gas with nine runs of their own during the same span.

The River Hawks led 21-13 in the top of the ninth, and what happened next was startling. Jack Veith (Franklin, NJ/Wallkill Valley) walked to start the inning, and the next two batters were hit by pitches to load the bases.

PJ Stonsby (Bedford, NY/Fox Lane) struck out swinging for the first out, and Gannon Decker (Hawley, PA/Wallenpaupack Area) brought a run in with an RBI groundout. That made it 21-14 with Susquehanna needing just one more out to end the game.

However, Brian McDermott (Wilmington, DE/Saint Mark's) doubled to bring in another two runs (21-16), and then two batters later Evan Melberger (West Pittston, PA/Wyoming Area) singled to bring in two more (21-18). The final five runs were all either walked in or brought home by a hit by pitch to give the Colonels the lead.

Overall, Wilkes scored 10 runs off just two hits in the ninth, capitalizing on Susquehanna mistakes to get the job done. With a win in reach, Liam Huffman (East Stroudsburg, PA/East Stroudsburg South) was brought in to close out the game, and he did just that.

He gave up a hit to the first batter he saw, but immediately retired three in a row to give Wilkes a miraculous win.

Sal Colello (Highland Mills, NY/Monroe-Woodbury) got the win for Wilkes, while Huffman earned the save. Show, McDermott, and Smale were some of the highlights at the plate with all three ending the game with three RBIs.

The Colonels will remain on the road for their next game on Wednesday, March 18 against Penn State-Harrisburg. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.