Waterbury, CT - Felician split its opening day at the CACC Baseball Championship on Thursday, rallying late against Wilmington before falling 6–5, then storming back from a five-run deficit to defeat Jefferson 7–5 and stay alive in the tournament. In both games, the Golden Falcons showed resilience after falling behind early, battling back into contention deep into each contest.
Game One: Wilmington 6, Felician 5
Felician erased a four-run deficit and nearly completed a late comeback before coming up just short against Wilmington.
After Wilmington built a 4–0 lead through three innings, the Falcons finally broke through in the seventh. Ernesto Polanco started the rally with an RBI double, Matthew Scrivanic followed with an RBI double of his own, and Haiden Walters added an RBI single to trim the deficit to 4–3.
Wilmington answered with two runs in the bottom half, but Felician mounted another push in the ninth. Walters singled to keep the inning alive, Luis De La Cruz drove in a run with a double, and Rocko Brzezniak followed with an RBI single to bring the Falcons within one before Wilmington closed it out.
Luis De La Cruz led the offense with three hits, including a double and an RBI, while Walters added two hits and an RBI. Jose David Medrano also recorded two hits, and Polanco and Scrivanic each drove in a run during the seventh-inning rally.
Max Weber worked 6.2 innings in the start, while Aiden Denton finished the final 1.1 innings in relief.
Game Two: Felician 7, Jefferson 5
Facing elimination later in the evening, Felician delivered one of its biggest comeback wins of the season, overcoming a 5–0 deficit to defeat Jefferson and extend its postseason run.
Luis De La Cruz sparked the comeback with a solo home run in the fourth before the Falcons chipped away in the sixth behind RBI hits from Rocko Brzezniak and Bryce Curry.
Felician pulled within one in the seventh when Walters scored on a sacrifice fly from Brzezniak, then tied the game in the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Neisser Sanchez.
The Falcons completed the comeback in the ninth after pressure on the bases forced a throwing error that brought home the go-ahead run. Braden Walsh followed with an RBI single to add insurance.
After entering in the fifth inning, Gendi completely changed the game on the mound. The right-hander dominated over the final 4.1 innings, allowing just one hit while striking out nine and holding Jefferson scoreless the rest of the way.
Luis De La Cruz finished with three hits, including a home run and double, while Bryce Curry and Braden Walsh each collected two hits. Rocko Brzezniak drove in two runs, and Felician totaled seven runs on nine hits despite trailing by five early.
Felician will now take on the loser of Friday's matchup between Wilmington and Goldey-Beacom, with the hopes of punching their ticket to the CACC Championship for the second year in a row.
