PHILADELPHIA – Zack Austin hit a walk-off double in the bottom of the 12^th inning to cap a three-run rally in game two and give the Thomas Jefferson University baseball team (17-15, 8-7 CACC) a doubleheader sweep of Goldey-Beacom on Sunday.
 
GAME ONE – W, 9-3
The Rams quickly got on the board in the first with a Ryan Sawyer single followed by a Lucas DeStefano RBI double to go ahead 1-0. Efrain Santiago led off the second with a home run to put Jefferson ahead by two. Both teams pushed a run across in the fourth. The Lightning bashed a lead-off home run and the Rams scored on an error.
 
Zack Austin cleared the fence with a two-run shot in the fifth to increase the Jefferson advantage to four (5-1). In the seventh, Ryan Coyle plated a run with a sacrifice fly and Justin Espinal followed with an RBI single to make it 7-1. Sawyer capped off the Rams' scoring with a two-run home run in the eighth. GBC scored twice in the ninth but left the bases loaded as Patrick Hohlfeld got a strikeout to end the game.
 
Quick Hits
- Ryan Sawyer: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
- Lucas DeStefano: 2-for-5, 2B, SB, RBI
- Zack Austin: 1-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, R
- Chris McLean: 2-for-4, 2 2B, R
- Efrain Santiago: 2-for-2, 2B, HR, BB, RBI, 2 R
- Justin Espinal: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI
 
GAME TWO – W, 7-6 (12 inn.)
Jefferson opened up a 3-0 lead with one run in the first, second, and fourth innings. Arturo Figueroa recorded a sac fly, Ryan Coyle singled in a run, and Zack Austin scored on an error.
 
While the Rams' offense went to work, so did Jem Sisco on the mound. The sophomore right-hander fanned an astonishing 14 batters in just five innings. Of the 15 outs recorded by Sisco, 14 were by strikeout, all of them swinging. The first 10 outs of the contest came by way of strikeout and Sisco whiffed seven straight batters at one point.
 
The Lightning finally broke through against Sisco with a two-run single in the fifth to get within one. In the seventh, GBC was one out away from defeat when it smashed a game-tying homer to even the score at three. The Rams put the winning run in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh but could not score and the game went into extra innings.
 
Goldey-Beacom went in front for the first time in the 10^th, scoring on a two-out sacrifice fly to take a 4-3 lead. Jefferson then found itself down to its last out in the bottom of the 10^th, but Lucas DeStefano came through with a game-tying bomb to left field to tie it at four.
 
It took until the 12^th for more runs to score, with the Lightning plating two for a 6-4 advantage. Not to be deterred, the Rams rallied in their half of the 12^th. Alex Gonzalez led off with a single. Ryan Sawyer followed with a base hit and an error allowed Gonzalez to score. DeStefano then came up clutch again, knocking a single through the right side to bring home Sawyer and tie the game. After a groundout, Austin laced a pitch into center field and DeStefano came in to score the winning run, ending a wild affair just before darkness took over Alumni Field.
 
Quick Hits
- Lucas DeStefano: 3-for-6, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R
- Zack Austin: 3-for-6, 2B, RBI, R
- Chris McLean: 2-for-4, 2B, R
- Alex Gonzalez: 2-for-4, 2B, R
- Jem Sisco: 5.0 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 14 K
 
NOTES
- Jem Sisco's 14 strikeouts was a career high.
- The Rams batted .329 on the day, including .382 in the opener.
- It was Jefferson's longest game by innings since a 13-inning affair versus Wilmington on April 24, 2019.
 
UP NEXT
The Rams travel to Saint Thomas Aquinas for a non-conference game on Tuesday, April 12 at 4 p.m.