CHESTER, Pa. (Apr. 29, 2017) – Senior Nick Enos (Williamstown, N.J.) belted a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Widener University baseball team to a 4-3 victory over Hood in the first game of a twinbill on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the Pride punched their ticket to the upcoming Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth Tournament.
 
After senior Greg McDonough (Ambler, Pa.) hit a two-run double to tie the opener at 3-3 through four frames, Widener's Elliot Snyder (Mountain Top, Pa.) and Hood's Nate Luscombe got locked in a pitcher's duel and combined to put up zeros between the fifth and eight frames. Hood (19-19, MAC Comonwealth 9-12) most notably loaded the bases with two outs by having two consecutive batters reach base by getting hit by a pitch, but Snyder made up for the blunders by inducing a groundout to get out of the major jam and keep the game deadlocked.
 
Despite stranding a runner on third in the bottom of the seventh to avoid extra frames, Widener was still able to put a string of quality at bats together to pull out the victory. Sophomore Stephen DeBellis (Marlton, N.J.) hit a leadoff single up the middle, was sacrificed over to second and then came home when Enos shot the ball down the line in left to give the Pride the walk-off victory and a spot in the upcoming conference tournament.
 
Snyder, a senior, picked up the victory for Widener and improved his record to an unblemished 6-0 by throwing three and two-thirds scoreless frames of relief without allowing a hit. He also struck out two and did not issue a walk. Hood's Lucombe took the tough loss and dropped to 2-7 after surrendering six hits and one run which was earned on the walk-off play. He also fanned four and did not issue any walks.
 
Playing with a fresh group of faces and showcasing its depth, Widener was able to score the three runs it needed in the bottom of the third in the nightcap to complete the sweep and build momentum heading into the postseason. Sophomore Brennan Taylor (Maple Shade, N.J.) opened the scoring with a two-run double down the line in right and then came home on a DeBellis single through the left side to add insurance.
 
Freshman Dylan Peiffer (Allentown, Pa.) earned the win on the bump in his first career for Widener by hurling four scoreless innings to move his record ahead to 2-0. He only yielded two hits and only allowed one batter to reach third base. Junior Matt Stranix (South Harrison, N.J.) picked up his first save of the season by striking out the side in the seventh. Hood's Ryan Atkinson was tagged with the loss after giving up one hit and being charged with two runs, which were both earned, in two and one-third innings of work.
 
Widener (25-12, MAC Commonwealth 13-8) will make its fifth straight appearance in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament as the third seed and begin postseason play on Thursday, May 4 at 7:00 p.m.