Central battles back but loses to Sallies in extras

Baseball is cruel.

No. 1 Sussex Central had the bases loaded against No. 13 Salesianum inside Frawley Stadium May 30 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh of a 5-5 tie and one of the best hitters Delaware has ever seen in the box. Senior Noah Burroughs, who hangs around the .700 mark for his batting average, tried his best to seize glory, but the physics of a round bat striking a round ball makes for unpredictable outcomes.

As the senior raced down the baseline in an attempt to beat the odds, his feet were bested by the throw from Salesianum shortstop C.J. Moxley. It would be the closest the Golden Knights came to reaching the finals in nearly 20 years.

“He was a little over-aggressive because he wanted to be that hero and got a little bit out of his zone,” said Sussex Central coach D.J. Long. “That doesn’t change who I think he was as a player.”

The underdogs took the first lead of the game using small ball in the top of the third to go up 2-0. Central responded with two walks to open the bottom frame, paving the way for Burroughs to smash a triple into right to score Jace Jarmon and Osiah Kelley. Burroughs was driven home by Joaquin Rodriguez-Costa in the next at bat to give the Golden Knights a 3-2 lead with no outs. The Sallies were able to escape the frame with just three runs allowed.

In the top of the fourth, Salesianum scored twice again to take a 4-3 lead, this time maintaining it until the bottom of the sixth.

Playing small ball themselves, Central tied things up on a Jarmon double following a walk and a sacrifice that scored courtesy runner Chet Mariner. With the bases loaded and two outs, the Golden Knights called on pinch hitter Chet Furmanek, whose keen eye led to an RBI walk to give Central a 5-4 lead.

“To be honest, when you go through that game and look at a couple of those situations, you couldn’t draw it up any better,” Long said. “You take the lead going into the top of the seventh, and you need three outs to make it to the state championship, and that’s what makes it hurt.”

Salesianum used discipline at the plate to tie up the game in the top of the seventh, setting the stage for Burroughs to be up with the bases loaded in the bottom half of the inning. 

“He’s been our best player, been unbelievable all season, and it sucks he is going to remember his last at bat rather than the fact he almost hit .700 on the season,” Long said.

Sallies went on to plate two runs in the top of the eighth and sit the Golden Knights down in order to punch their ticket to the June 1 title game against Caesar Rodney.

Long hopes his players remember the success they had in 2024.

“Each year we've been here we go a little bit farther,” Long said.

Central wraps up its 2024 season with an overall record of 17-3.