PHILADELPHIA — For the first time in a decade, Saint Joseph’s walked off the field at Citizens Bank Park with something more than just a memory.
They left with a title.
Behind a relentless offensive attack and a dominant relief outing from Justin Sweeney, the Hawks pulled away from Penn for an 8-2 victory Tuesday night, securing their fourth Liberty Bell Classic championship and their first since 2016.
For a few innings, it looked like Penn might have something to say about it.
The Quakers struck first in the opening frame, capitalizing on early traffic when Jack Warner’s infield single brought home Ryan Taylor, who had reached to begin the game. It was a quick jolt — and a brief one.
Saint Joseph’s didn’t just respond. They took control.
In the third inning, patience turned into production. Alex Kelsey and Blake Primrose worked two-out walks, setting the table for Richard Beggy, who shot a single through the left side to score both runners. Two batters later, Jason Janesko followed with another RBI single, stretching the lead to 3-1 and flipping the tone of the game.
Penn had an answer — but only for a moment.
Gavin Degnan turned on a pitch in the fourth and sent it 415 feet over the left-field wall, trimming the deficit to one and briefly restoring life to the Quakers’ dugout.
It didn’t last.
The Hawks kept applying pressure, and Penn never found a way to slow it. Tim Dickinson’s RBI double in the fifth pushed the lead back to two. An inning later, Primrose delivered the swing that widened the gap, ripping a triple off the center-field wall — “Monty’s Angle” — to make it 5-2.
From there, the game shifted from competitive to controlled.
Sweeney took over in the middle innings and never gave Penn a window back into the game. The right-hander faced just one batter over the minimum across 4 1/3 innings, allowing no hits and striking out six in a performance that removed any remaining suspense.
Penn cycled through nine pitchers trying to keep pace. It wasn’t enough.
Saint Joseph’s kept adding. Beggy delivered again in the eighth with an RBI single, and the Hawks broke it open in the ninth, drawing a bases-loaded walk and adding another run on a fielder’s choice to stretch the lead to six.
Andrew Gaines handled the rest, retiring the side in order in the ninth to close it out.
The numbers told the story of control and separation. Saint Joseph’s pitchers combined to strike out 12 without issuing a walk. Kelsey reached base five times and scored three runs. Beggy drove in three and reached four times. Dickinson matched that on-base presence.
Penn, meanwhile, generated just three hits. Warner accounted for two of them, while Degnan’s home run provided the only extra-base impact. Taylor added a milestone to the night, stealing his 26th base of the season to set a new program record, while continuing to build on his career mark.
But this game belonged to Saint Joseph’s.
The Hawks now have four Liberty Bell Classic titles, adding this one to championships in 2012, 2014, and 2016. It was their sixth appearance in the final.
And that’s how seasons get away.
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