BETHLEHEM, Pa. - A walk-off single from
Garrett Garofalo (Willow Grove, PA/Upper Moreland) in the bottom of the 9th inning led Northampton to a dramatic 7-6 victory over Sussex County Community College on Friday afternoon at Spartan Park.
Trailing 6-5 with two outs in the bottom of the 9th,
Isaiah Lockette (Steelton, PA/Steelton-Highspire) singled to right field to keep the Spartan hopes alive.
Luke Spencer (Dallas, PA/Lake-Lehman) walked, moving Lockette to second, setting the stage for Garofalo's heroics. Garofalo then singled to right field on a 2-0 count, scoring Lockette and Spencer to give Northampton the thrilling 7-6 victory.
Sussex jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning, Northampton responded with 4 runs in the bottom of the 3rd, highlighted by a
Ryan Gordon (New Cumberland, PA/Red Land) double. The Spartans tacked on a run in the 4th for a 5-1 advantage, but Sussex responded with a run in the 5th, a run in the 6th and 3 in the 8th to take the 6-5 lead.
Garrofalo finished 2 for 5 with 2 RBI,
Michael Wambold (Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg (NJ)) was 1 for 4 with a RBI and
Josh Herman (Bethlehem, PA/Notre Dame Green Pond) went 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Jake Black (Bethlehem, PA/Elizabethtown Area ) earned the win in relief, working 1.1 innings, allowing no runs on 1 hit, striking out 2. Starter
Tylar Patrick (Barrie, ON - Canada/) went 6 innings, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits, with 5 strikeouts and no walks.
Francesco Greco (Norwalk, CT/Brien McMahon (CT)) and
Ethan Ferraro (Gilbertsville, PA/Boyertown Area) worked the middle 1.2 innings.
The win, the 6th in the row for Northampton, moves them to 16-3 overall.
Sussex falls to 7-12 with the loss.
The Spartans hit the road this weekend, traveling to Garden City, New York to face Nassau Community College on Saturday and then heading south to Lincroft, NJ for a Region 19 matchup with Brookdale Community College on Sunday.
