April 28, 2011 -- Baseball, Softball Both Go Extra Innings with Bethel

Baseball (7-1, 5-1):
On Tuesday, the Bobcats finally lost a game, taking one on the chin in Fairfield, losing to Notre Dame 10-2.  They returned home on Wednesday to face perennial power Bethel (4-3).  The game went extra innings and in the bottom of the ninth inning they found themselves down one-run with two outs and nobody on. Suddenly a two-game losing streak was staring them in the face.
Up stepped senior Ryan Berry, who had pitched eight innings, surrendering only two runs in the classic pitchers duel.  Berry delivered a clean single through the right side of the infield to make him three-for-four on the day.  He was followed by first baseman Austin Yusko, who promptly drove a ball up the middle to continue the two-out rally.
Bethel pitcher Andy Guercio, who was on the mound for the entire game, was finally starting to wear down.  Bobcats catcher Evan Mozingo smartly battled him and drew a walk to load the bases and set things up for shortstop Bryson Herr.  Herr took advantage of the big moment by scorching a single into center field that brought home the tying and winning runs in the dramatic 4-3 walk-off win for Brookfield.
"I just wanted to follow my hands back up the middle," Herr said of his approach at the plate.  "I was looking for middle-in, that's what I got."
Brookfield took a 1-0 in the second inning when Yusko delivered an RBI double that drove in Berry, who had hit a two-out triple.  After Bethel scored two off Berry in third, the Bobcats promptly tied things up in the bottom of the inning when second baseman Ryan Korb hit an RBI single that drove home Mozingo, who had led off the inning with a double.
From there both pitchers were lights out, shutting each team down until the dramatic final inning.  Berry, who had thrown 112 pitches, gave way to relief pitcher Dave Long, who was greeted by a leadoff single.  The Wildcats then executed a perfect bunt play that led to a throwing error by Long that was misplayed by the right fielder backing up on the play, which allowed Bethel to take a 3-2 lead and have a runner on third with nobody out.  Long came up big by stranding the runner there and keeping the Bobcat deficit at one run.
BETHEL            002 000 001—3 6 0
BROOKFIELD 011 000 002—4 10 3
BATTERIES: BE—Guercio (L) and Nick Spinella; BR—Berry, Long (9) and Mozingo. SO: Guercio 11, Berry 6, Long. BB: Guercio 3, Berry 2.
2B: BE—John Sorice, Zach Albin; BR—Yusko, Mozingo. 3B: BR—Berry. RBI: BE—Sorice, Albin, Spinella; BR—Herr 2, Yusko, Korb.