Well, you can call them the Knights — or maybe just call them Houdini.
Arcadia University, the No. 3 seed in the MAC Freedom tournament, pulled off a wild semifinal sweep on the road at No. 2 Misericordia this weekend, winning an 11-10 extra-inning marathon in Game 1 before finishing the job with a 7-5 victory in Game 2.
Game 1 was one of those games you tell stories about years later. The Knights jumped out swinging, with Cam Seymour ripping an RBI single in the first and Joshua Agriesti following with a two-run double to right. But that 3-0 lead didn’t last long, as the Cougars roared back with three runs of their own in the bottom of the first.
Arcadia wasted no time reclaiming the lead in the second, fueled by Max Oswald’s two-run single, a Seymour RBI double, and a textbook safety squeeze by Thomas Strauch. But just when the Knights looked in control, Misericordia punched back — four runs in the fourth, another in the sixth, and two more in the eighth. Suddenly, Arcadia was staring at a 10-7 deficit in the ninth.
Cue the comeback.
Agriesti led off the ninth with a single and handed the baton to pinch-runner Noah Stennett. After a walk and a pop-out, Derek Rivera came through with a clutch double to left-center, cutting the lead to one. Kevin Wheeler then tied the game with an infield single that brought home Ryan Radigan, and when Rivera dashed home on a throwing error, the Knights had new life. Mitchell Bramsway kept the Cougars off the board in the bottom of the ninth before darkness halted play.
Fast-forward to Saturday morning. The first batter up? Seymour, who promptly got plunked. After a strikeout, Jake Hendershot grabbed a bat off the bench and delivered the knockout punch — a double to center that scored Seymour all the way from first. Andrew Tyszka shut the door in the bottom of the 10th for his first career save, and just like that, Arcadia had one of its most dramatic wins in recent memory.
The box score told its own wild tale: Agriesti with three hits and two RBIs, Wheeler and Seymour each scoring twice, and Oswald and Agriesti knocking in two apiece. Oswald even drew a pair of walks, because why not?
Game 2 brought more of the same magic. Rivera and Wheeler set the tone early with RBIs in the second, but Misericordia kept things tight, clawing back to tie it 3-3 in the sixth. Strauch answered with a two-run triple in the seventh, and Agriesti tacked on another RBI single to push the lead to 6-3. Wheeler iced it in the eighth with an RBI knock to make it 7-4.
On the mound, Jack Dovidio gave the Knights five solid innings before Jadon Dormer picked up the win in relief. And fittingly, it was Bramsway back on the mound in the ninth, locking down the save and finishing off the sweep.
So here’s where we stand: Arcadia’s off to the MAC Freedom championship, riding a wave of resilience, big bats, and just a little chaos. And if you’re Misericordia? You’re probably still trying to figure out what hit you.
The Knights will face Stevens in a three-game best-of series starting on Friday in Hoboken.
