ALLENTOWN, Pa. –  The Ursinus College baseball team forced extra innings on Friday but were unable to clinch a Centennial Conference playoff berth falling to Muhlenberg 3-2 in the 10^th inning at Coca-Cola Park.
 

With the loss, the Bears move to 16-23 on the season and 8-9 in Centennial Conference action, meanwhile the Mules improved to 16-22-1 overall and 9-9 in conference play.
 

In the opening frame junior left-handed pitcher T.J. Snyder worked out a jam stranding a runner on third after striking out back-to-back batters to end the frame. The Bears received their first hit in the second inning when sophomore Andrew Richter slashed a double to center field, but he would be stranded there as a strikeout and pop out ended the threat. In the bottom half of the frame, Muhlenberg threatened again loading the bases with two outs behind three consecutive walks. Snyder settled in and fanned the Mules lead off batter to escape the jam and keep the score tied at zero.

 
The Bears jumped on the board first in the top of the third inning as four consecutive batters reached base with two outs to give Ursinus an early 1-0 lead. Junior Will Kelley started the rally with a two-out walk and advanced to second on a single from senior Solomon Griffith. Senior Tom Snipes added the Bears first run with an RBI single through the right side of the infield to score Kelley from second. After a walk from sophomore Peter Balos, the Bears rally ended on a flyout to right field.

 
Snyder cruised through the third inning on the mound retiring the Mules in order behind two flyouts and a groundout. He would face some trouble in the fourth frame as Muhlenberg's first two batters reached base via a single and free pass. The left-hander continued to battle as a failed bunt attempt, a pop out, and a fly out would strand two runners on base for the Mules. After the Bears were retired in order in the fifth, Muhlenberg responded with two runs to capture a 2-1 lead midway through the contest. After a single allowed the second run to score, Snyder rolled a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning and his day on the mound.

 
Junior Matt Tuley relieved Snyder on the mound and although two runners reached base, he fanned three batters during the frame. Ursinus responded in the seventh inning as a two-out single tied the game at two apiece. Sophomore Jordan Williams reached base with one out via an error and advanced to second on a single from Cantor. During the next at-bat, a ball in the dirt forced miscommunication on the base path and Cantor was thrown out at first base for the second out. The Bears bounced back as a single from Kelly allowed Williams to score and a double from Griffith put two runners in scoring position. The Bears rally ended there as an infield groundout ended the frame with the score tied 2-2.

  
In the bottom of the seventh, Muhlenberg's first two batters reached base via a single and a walk forcing the Bears to go to the bullpen. Junior Jared Minnichbach relived Tuley on the mound and stranded both runners after retiring the next three baters via a strikeout and two pop outs. After the Bears went down in order, Muhlenberg once again threatened in the bottom of the eighth inning when two batters reached on free passes. Minnichbach and the Bears defense escaped the jam as a lineout to second base resulted in a double play to end the inning.
 

In the top of the ninth inning, the Bears almost added the go-ahead run as sophomore catcher Dylan Runsdorf led off with a walk and advanced to second a wild pitch. After a fly out, Cantor collected his second hit of the day with a single through the left side. With runners on the corners, Cantor swiped second base to put two runners in scoring position, but a strikeout and pop out ended the Bears threat. Muhlenberg received a free pass to open the ninth, but Minnichbach settled in on the mound retiring the next three batters to force extra innings.

 
Muhlenberg added the winning run in the bottom of the tenth to earn the 3-2 victory. After the leadoff batter reached on a hit-by-pitch, a sacrifice bunt and groundout put the winning run at third base. Muhlenberg's Jonathan Toth collected the winning RBI with a line drive base hit down the left field line. The Mules led off each of the final four innings with a baserunner while stranding 12 runners on the day and the Bears finished with 11 runners left on base.

 
At the plate, Cantor and Griffith led the way finishing with two hits apiece, while Kelley, Snipes, Richter, and Williams each tallied one base hit. On the mound, Snyder started and pitched five innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs, and striking out four batters. In relief, Tuley pitched an inning without allowing a run while Minnichbach allowed just one hit, and three walks over 3.2 innings of work.


The Bears will return to action on Sunday at 11am as they will finish an uncompleted contest against Dickinson from April 22nd. 

 
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