MYRTLE BEACH – Two rain delays, 21 runs and five-plus hours later, Suffolk baseball came out on the right side of an 11-10 decision over Albertus Magnus Wednesday night at Polo Grounds as part of the Ripken Experience.  

The Rams trailed by as many as sixth in the middle of the fourth, came back, took an 11-7 lead, before the Falcons flew back with three runs in the ninth to keep Ram Nation on the edge of its seats to the very end.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 11 | Albertus Magnus 10
RECORDS: Suffolk (4-3) | Albertus Magnus (0-6)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk found itself down 5-0 in the middle of the third after Albertus Magnus opened the game with a three-run first and added one run in the second and third, respectively. A sac fly from Marc Birbiglia scored Garret Roberts, who was hit by a pitch, to get the Rams on the board in the home half of the third.  

The little ground the blue-and-gold made up was quickly erased as Albertus Magnus added two more runs in the top of the fourth make it a 7-1 gap. 

Things started to look up in the bottom of the fourth when Jonny Gilbride sent a ball out of the park. Luke Harder and Dylan January both drew walks to put a pair of ducks in the pond for Gilbride, who barreled a long ball to left to pull Suffolk within three, 7-4. 

An inning later all of the Rams bats got going as they ran through the order and then some to take their first lead of the day, 11-7. That seven-run scoring stretch, that came on three hits and two Falcons' errors, featured two-run bomb by Harry Painter.  

Three scoreless innings followed as Jake Washock shoved and EJ Birch took over where Washock left off. Birch, a right-handed junior came in in two thirds of the way through the seventh with the passes chucked. He secured the final out, before fanning the entire side in the eighth, all looking, to maintain the four-run margin for the Rams. 

An Albertus Magnus come back loomed as Anthony Broadhurst walked to start the stanza off. The Falcons mixed in pinch runners to the bags and hitters at the plate for a fresh perspective. The changes paid off and set J Matthews up for a two RBI double that cut the edge down to 11-9 with no outs. 

That ended Birch's day on the hill and Roberts took over the rubber. The positional pitcher walked the first batter he faced to put all the ducks in the pond. He gained composure and a long out to left was followed by a swinging K to be one out away from the win.  

Instead things got even more tense when the righty walked in a run to let the Falcons back within one, 11-10.  

Roberts continued to have a flair for the dramatics as he got into a full count with Ron Losacano. A deep breath later, Suffolk's sophomore sat Losacano down swinging to put the game away for the Rams.  

PITCHERS PICTURE

• Roberts locked up the win with one scoreless, hitless innings with a pair of walks and strikeouts, respectively. 
• Washock registered the win behind 3.1 frames of scoreless work. Out of the pen he let up four walks and fanned four. 
• Casey Sullivan had the nod and gave up seven runs, six earned, on 10 hits and three walks with two Ks in 3.1 innings of action. 
• Birch tossed 1.1 innings of relief in which he allowed three runs on three hits and one walk with three strikeouts to his credit. 
• Albertus Magnus cycled through five different pitchers.
• The second pitcher of the day for the Falcons, Jayden Cumbo, suffered the setback. He allowed three runs on no hits and one walk. 
• AMC's starter Sean Jefferson let up eight runs, seven earned, on five hits and four walks with three punchouts in 4.1 frames. 
• Alex Kozlowski (1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 Ks), Zack Fenn (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K) and Alan Stinson (1.0 IP, 1 H) all took the hill for the Falcons. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Painter produced four RBI on two hits including one dinger to go along with one run scored. 
• Gilbride contributed three RBI on his one hit, a jack, with two runs and one stolen base on his stat line. 
• Harder went 2-for-4 at the dish with one triple. He scored twice and stole two bases.
• Seariac supplied one hit, one RBI, one run and two walks.
• Roberts and January both supplied two runs. The former also pitched in one RBI.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk renewed a series with Albertus Magnus, meeting for the first time since March 30, 2019. 
• The Rams ran their eighth straight win over the Falcons together to move to 40-8 all-time against AMC. 
• Suffolk sits 11-1 versus Albertus Magnus in the Anthony Del Prete era. 
• The Rams sent two balls over the fence for the second straight game. It marks the first back-to-back games with two dingers since Suffolk knocked two homers in both outings of the 2021 CCC Pod B Playoffs against Endicott May 1, 2021.
• Gilbride and Painter each registered the first homers of their Suffolk and college careers.  
• Gilbride brought in a career-high three runs.
• Painter provided a career-high four RBI and matched a personal-best in hits (2) and runs scored (1). 
• Washock picked up his first collegiate win on the hill. In the outing, he pitched the most innings and faced the most batters in any of his career appearances. Additionally, Washock struck out a career-high four.
• Seariac matched a personal-best two walks.
• Roberts scored a career-high two runs. 
• Roberts earned his second save of the season. 
• Iorio produced his first career hit.
• January scored a career-high two runs and drew the first walk of his collegiate career.
• Harder knocked a triple for the first time in his career.
• Harder has one hit in all seven of Suffolk's games this season. 

POST-GAME PIC
 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk returns to the Ripken Experience tomorrow, Thursday, March 17 for nine-innings against Framingham State. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.