PHILADELPHIA – Trailing 8-2 and 10-4, the Saint Joseph's baseball team rallied for four runs in the seventh and six runs in the eighth to stun Penn, 14-10, in the quarterfinals of the Liberty Bell Classic on Tuesday afternoon at Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Carson Applegate gave Saint Joseph's (9-14) the lead in the top of the first inning, following an Alex Kelsey infield single with a two-run home run to put the Hawks on top, 2-0.
 
• Penn (8-10) countered in the bottom of the third, sending 12 batters to the plate and scoring eight runs.  The Quakers would go ahead on a grand slam by Ryan Taylor.
 
• Michael Pierson and Joey Gale were hit by pitches with two outs in the fourth before Kelsey followed with a walk to load the bases for Colin Myers; his single up the middle plated two and got the Hawks back within four.
 
• The hosts got the runs back in the bottom of the frame as Ernie Echevarria singled in a run and Michael Powell brought one home with a double.
 
• The Hawks turned things around in the seventh.  Owen Petrich reached on an error to start the inning; Aidan Duda and Pierson would then draw walks to leave the bases loaded with two outs.  Gale was hit by another pitch to force in Petrich before Kelsey walked to bring home Duda and make it a 10-6 game.  Myers followed with another two-run single to bring the Hawks back within a pair.
 
• SJU batted around for the second consecutive inning in the eighth.  Petrich and Dean Bergmann walked to start the inning; after a successful sacrifice by Duda, Pierson walked to load the bases.  Pinch hitter Blake Primrose walked to bring in Petrich before Gale was hit for a third time, scoring Bergmann to tie the game.
 
• Kelsey put the Hawks ahead with a walk before Myers lofted a sacrifice fly to double the lead.  After Applegate was hit by a pitch to reload the bases, Petrich came to the plate for the second time in the inning and singled home a pair to put the Hawks on top, 14-10.
 
• The Quakers threatened in the bottom of the eighth, putting two on with one out, but Luke Parise extinguished the threat with a fielder's choice and a strikeout.  The umpires then called the game due to darkness before the top of the ninth.
 
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Jackson Campbell threw a perfect seventh – the only 1-2-3 inning of the game for either team – to earn the win, while Connor Darling allowed five runs on one hit, four walks, and a pair of hit batsmen in one inning to take the loss.
 
• Myers was 3-for-5 with five runs batted in on the day; Petrich added three hits of his own.  Kelsey, Applegate, Petrich, and Gale each drove in two runs, while Gale scored three times and Kelsey, Petrich, and Pierson scored twice each.
 
• Gale was hit by a pitch three times, matching the program's single-game record reached three times previously.  Kelsey walked three times, two of which forced home a run.
 
• The win advances the Hawks to the semifinals of the Liberty Bell Classic; Saint Joseph's will host Delaware on Tuesday, April 1, with a trip to Citizens Bank Park on the line.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Joseph's heads to VCU for a three-game weekend Atlantic 10 series.  The opener is set for Friday night at 6:00 p.m.