Hackettstown, NJ: Centenary baseball delivered a dramatic finish Friday afternoon as
Dominick Chiego crushed a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Cyclones to a thrilling 6–3 victory over New Paltz at Our Diamond of Dreams.
Centenary struck first in the opening inning when Derek DePace was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, bringing home Joseph Frei for an early 1–0 lead. New Paltz responded in the fifth inning with an RBI single from Matt Sarni to even the score at 1–1. The Cyclones regained the advantage in the sixth as DePace sparked the rally with a double to left-center before advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt by Myles Castillo. Andrew Briggs followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to give Centenary a 2–1 lead.
New Paltz answered in the seventh inning, plating two runs on a two-RBI single from Ryan Muskopf to take a 3–2 lead and put the Cyclones in a late-game deficit.
Centenary mounted its rally in the bottom of the ninth. Nick Friscia worked a walk to begin the frame and later moved into scoring position after stealing second. Simeon Reed followed with a walk, and Frei drew another free pass to load the bases with two outs. That set the stage for Chiego, who launched a 2–1 pitch over the fence for a walk-off grand slam, sending the Cyclones dugout spilling onto the field in celebration. Chiego's lone hit of the day proved to be the biggest, finishing with four RBI on the game-winning blast. Frei scored twice and reached base twice, while DePace recorded a double and an RBI.
On the mound, Louie Vassallo gave Centenary a strong start, allowing one run over 5.1 innings while striking out five. Anthony Fraser provided two scoreless innings of relief to keep the Cyclones within striking distance, and Adam Yarrison earned the win after working a clean ninth inning.
The walk-off victory marks the first victory of the season and one of the Cyclones' most exciting finishes of the young season as Centenary continues its early spring schedule.
