Illing’s Dramatic Walk-off Home Run Wins It for Williamson
After dropping the first game of their key Eastern States Athletic Conference doubleheader to Christendom College, and trailing 8-7 heading into the bottom of the seventh in the nightcap, Williamson needed a small miracle in order to somehow pull out a win. Enter junior standout Josh Illing. With two outs and two runners on base, he smashed a dramatic three-run home run to give Williamson the miracle they needed in a 10-8 win.
In the opener, Williamson found themselves down big early on yet again, and again, could not dig out of that hole, as Christendom led throughout in a 20-12 win.
Williamson though bounced back in the second game and took a 6-1 lead into the fourth inning, Cody Grande continued his torrid hitting streak, as the returning USCAA All-American from a year ago blasted a two-run home run as part of those six runs.
Christendom however, was not done by any stretch. The came back to not only tie things up, but then take the lead at 8-6. Jacob Naumann then came in to pitch for Williamson and did a great job of keeping the Crusaders in check to allow Williamson to stay within striking distance.
Williamson would pull to within 8-7 on an RBI hit by Michael Krakovitz but would still trail by the same score coming into their last at bat. Michael Sheller then started the rally with a hit, and Samuel Coppa would eventually reach base but with two outs, it all came down to Illing. After going up 2-0 in the count, Illing drilled the next pitch out of the park to send a jubilant Mechanics team home with a much-needed doubleheader split.
With the split, Williamson moves to 10-5 overall and 4-3 in ESCA play. They get right back into action on Monday, as they host Penn State Hazelton in a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 P.M.