PURCHASE, N.Y. – Sophomore Luke Scoggins (Merrick, N.Y./Sanford H. Calhoun) blasted a two-out walk-off home run in the ninth inning of game two and the Manhattanville College baseball team swept Wilkes University Saturday on Senior Day at Manhattanville Field to put themselves in excellent position to make the MAC Freedom tournament for the sixth consecutive season.
 
Scoggins went 5-for-10 at the plate Saturday, scoring two runs while driving home three. Junior Danny Gallagher (Nanuet, N.Y./Paramus Catholic) racked up four hits on the day and senior Chris Conklin (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) went 3-for-5 with four runs scored.
 
Game One
 
The Valiants struggled offensively, recording just five hits in game one, but for the second consecutive game used late inning heroics to come away with the victory. After a scoreless opening frame, the Colonels jumped on top with a sacrifice fly in the second to take a 1-0 lead. The Valiants responded however in the third, getting on the board with a squeeze bunt by Gallagher before Scoggins delivered an RBI single to make it 2-1, Manhattanville.
 
Wilkes retook the lead in the fourth with three runs in the fourth, but Manhattanville had a response in the bottom of the fifth. With two runners on, Gallagher singled through the left side to make it a 4-3 game in favor of the Colonels, but Scoggins followed up with an RBI groundout to tie it 4-4. A two-out single by Delahanty and a bases-loaded walk by senior Joe Booker (Port Jefferson, N.Y./Port Jefferson) made it 6-4 Valiants through five innings of play.
 
Continuing the back and forth action, Wilkes tied the score once again with two runs in the top of the sixth, and the Valiants came to the plate in the bottom half of the frame tied 6-6. In the bottom of the frame, freshman Matt Lynch (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) led off the inning with a hit by pitch and Gallagher followed with a single to right field two batters later. With runners on the corners, Gallagher broke for second while the Colonel pitcher was set on the mound, drawing a throw to first. On the throw, Lynch took off for home on the double steal and slid underneath the tag at the plate for what proved to be the winning run.
 
Senior John Moschetti (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) earned the win in game one, throwing two scoreless innings of relief to improve to 3-1 on the year.
 
Game Two
 
 The Valiants led the Colonels 7-5 entering the top of the seventh inning in game two, but the Colonels showed no quit as they did in game one. With two outs, the Colonels roped a single up the middle to bring home two runs and level the scoring 7-7 in the middle of the frame. The Valiants were unable to score in the bottom of the frame and the two teams needed extra innings to decide a winner.
 
It was an eventful eighth inning, as the Colonels took the lead 9-7 on consecutive base hits with no outs in the inning. With the bases loaded, junior Thomas Contrelli (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) induced a ground ball to third base and the Valiants converted the unconventional 5-2-3 double play, and Contrelli followed it up with a strikeout to end the inning and bring the Valiants to the plate down 9-7.
 
After a groundout to open the inning, Scoggins hit a high chopper to shortstop and beat out the throw for an infield single. Following the single, senior Robbie Lynch (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Prep) fisted a single to left field and junior Nick Campana (Yonkers, N.Y./St. John the Baptist Elementary) kept the ball rolling with a bunt single to third base to load the bases. A bases-loaded walk and a wild pitch helped the Valiants tie the score, but the Crimson and Black were unable to push the winning run across the plate.
 
Contrelli once again worked out of a jam in the ninth, stranding two runners on base to end the inning and set up the dramatics for Scoggins in the bottom of the frame. After consecutive fly outs to left field, Scoggins stepped to the plate with two outs and nobody on base. Fighting off a 1-0 pitch, Scoggins broke his bat and went to the bench for a replacement. Two pitches later the sophomore launch a 1-2 pitch to right field, sneaking one over the fence for the walk-off victory.
 
The Valiants can now clinch a spot in the postseason with a win against Misericordia next weekend or with an Eastern University loss. The team will tune up for the season's final series on Tuesday when they travel to Vassar College for a non-conference battle beginning at 4:00 pm.