“It’s how baseball works — it always comes back to you,” said junior shortstop Alex Irizarry, after hitting the walk-off single in the 11th inning, redeeming himself after missing a chance to win it in the bottom of the ninth.
After a Friday doubleheader, the Quinnipiac Bobcats secured the series win against the Merrimack Warriors. The first game ended in a comeback victory after the Bobcats scored five runs in the seventh inning, including two two-RBI doubles, to take it 7–5. The second game was even more dramatic.
The Blue and Gold took a 2–0 lead in the first inning thanks to an Irizarry two-RBI single, driving in Willis and McCulloch. His father, Jason, has been at every game this season, including all the away matchups. He’s glad his son is close to home. Born and raised in Connecticut, Jason has Puerto Rican roots — his family is from Mayagüez, a city on the west side of the island.
“I would love for my kid to play at least double-A baseball on the island. I know he would enjoy it a lot,” Jason said.
Junior starting pitcher Mike Poncini threw six strong innings, striking out six batters with a sharp curveball that helped him dominate on the mound. In the 10th inning, sophomore relief pitcher Griffin Seibel — who would go on to get the win — entered the game. He struck out four batters over the final two innings to earn his first win of the season in front of the Hamden crowd.
After the Warriors tied it up in the fourth with a three-run homer from junior outfielder Christian Scanlon, the Bobcats responded. Graduate third baseman Sebastian Mueller and junior catcher Christian Smith each hit solo home runs in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively.
The Bobcats were back on top, 4–3, heading into the eighth until junior catcher Frankie Ferrentino crushed the first pitch of the inning over the fence and into the Quinnipiac Rugby Field.
In the ninth, Irizarry made a highlight-reel defensive play. Scanlon lined a ball into short left field, but Irizarry made a leaping catch while running backward, robbing the Warriors of a hit and securing the first out of the inning.
After Seibel and the defense held Merrimack scoreless in the top of the ninth, Quinnipiac came to the plate with a chance to win. Mueller led off with a single up the middle, but Irizarry, Smith, and Knox all grounded or flew out, despite making solid contact.
With extra innings underway, pressure mounted on the left side of the stands, where most Quinnipiac fans were seated. Seibel struck out the first two batters, walked the third, then regrouped. The mound visit quieted the field. Even though no one could hear what the coach was saying, everyone knew the moment was big. Seibel delivered — the next batter struck out swinging at a low off-speed pitch.
“Now it’s time to do it!” Jason Irizarry shouted toward the other parents sitting behind him.
After Merrimack’s pitcher, Cole Yennaco struck out Quinnipiac senior DH Jack Bryan to start the bottom of the 10th, sophomore center fielder Gabe Wright stepped in. With two doubles already, Wright walked and then stole second. Sophomore first baseman Kyle Garbowski followed with an infield single, moving Wright to third.
With runners on the corners and one out, graduate left fielder Sean McCulloch came to bat. Merrimack’s infield moved in, ready to make a play at the plate. On the first pitch, Garbowski broke for second and McCulloch squared to bunt. The bunt popped up toward the pitcher, who caught it and fired to first to double off Garbowski.
“What was that play?”
“That was the wrong call for sure — what happened there?”
The Quinnipiac crowd voiced its frustration loudly after the blown chance.
“We misread that,” head coach John Delaney said after the game. “Sean was supposed to swing after seeing the infield come in, but he tried to bunt down, and everything just went wrong.”
In the 11th, Mueller fielded a grounder and threw to first for the first out. Seibel then struck out Scanlon — the same player who’d homered earlier. One out away from getting to hit again, junior infielder Logan Castellano doubled to the gap in right-center. Another mound visit followed. After a walk, Seibel induced a foul pop-up that Garbowski caught to end the threat.
CJ Willis led off the bottom of the 11th with a flyout to center. Mueller came up again and smacked a double over the right fielder’s head. Sophomore pitcher Sam Ametrano entered as a pinch runner.
Irizarry came up for his fifth at-bat of the game. His dad pulled out his phone and started recording. Irizarry swung — a sharp grounder up the middle.
The Bobcats’ dugout exploded. Ametrano slid home, and as the ball rolled into center field, the team stormed the field in celebration.
Irizarry, a transfer from Maryland, is finally getting the chance to shine.
“Quinnipiac was a great fit for me,” he said. “I knew a lot of the guys on the team before coming here. With the way the transfer portal is now, you don’t see a lot of players sticking with one team year after year. We’re building that here, and it’s something special you don’t find just anywhere.”
