Box Score

Over the first seven games of the 2015 season, junior Andrew Rava has been platooning as the designated hitter for the Muhlenberg baseball team.

Against Scranton, he made his best case to win the job permanently.

Rava hit a two-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the 10th to give the Mules a come-from-behind 6-4 victory.

It was the first walkoff home run for Muhlenberg since current senior Brett Rosen hit one against Franklin & Marshall in 2013. The last extra-inning walkoff homer came by Pete Oris in the 11th against Haverford in 2006.

The Mules (3-4) fell into an early hole when Scranton scored four runs in the top of the second. But good work from the bullpen allowed Muhlenberg to draw even at 4-4 in the seventh and set the stage for extra innings.

Senior Seth Fenster (pictured at left) relieved with one out in the bottom of the second and pitched eight brilliant innings – the longest stint by a Mule relief pitcher since 1966. The southpaw allowed only five baserunners and struck out three before handing the ball off to senior Austin Cush, who got the final two outs in the top of the 10th and ended up as the winning pitcher.

With two out and nobody on in the bottom of the 10th, senior Nick Plinio walked on a 3-2 pitch. That brought Rava to the plate.

"I was looking to just hit the ball hard, put the ball in play and get the runner in scoring position for the next batter," he said.

He did more than that. With the count 2-2, he cranked a slider on the inside corner over the fence down the right-field line for his first homer as a Mule and the first walkoff round-tripper of his life.

"I thought it had a chance," he said. "I thought it might have been foul, or off the wall. Everyone on the bench thought it was gone as soon as I hit it."

Rava circled the bases and arrived home to a delirious group of screaming teammates.

"It was awesome - one of the best moments of my life for sure," he said.

What made it more awesome was that the win came a day after the Mules were swept in a doubleheader by Grove City. After falling behind by four runs, the team was in danger of having its trip south go south.

Senior Michael Giordano began the comeback by singling with two outs in the third and coming in on a double by senior Jimmy Cody. The same duo struck again with two outs in the fifth, this time on a double by Giordano and a single by Cody.

Muhlenberg tied the game in the seventh on a two-out RBI hits by sophomore John Icaza and a bases-loaded walk to Rosen.

"We had a tough day yesterday and we started out down 4-0 today," said Rava. "But we stayed in the game the whole time. The bench was really loud. It was a great team effort all around.

"It was a great way to really get the team together. To win a game like that was just incredible."