(West Harrison, NY) - Down to their last out of what would have been a crushing early-season defeat, with just a couple of key plays, and the most incredible of bullpen appearances, the Westchester Community College Baseball team turned a possible bout with adversity into the kind of moment that could define their season. Sophomores Steve Messerschmitt (Carmel, NY/Carmel HS) and Luis Gomez (Bronx, NY/St. Raymond) combined for six shutout innings, and sophomore Tyler Parshley (Carmel, NY/Carmel HS) capped off a wild opening game with a walk-off RBI single as the Vikings came back to beat Monroe College JV, 6-5 in 13 innings on Thursday at Silver Lake Park in West Harrison, New York.

After a 5-3 nightcap win, Westchester is now 5-0 to open the 2019 season. 

The opener looked like Monroe College (0-4) had a win in the bag as the Mustangs entered the seventh inning with a. 5-3 lead, and their closer on the mound. However, the Vikings did not go down quietly. In fact, they did not go down at all.

Consecutive singles by C.J. Spence (Mount Vernon, NY/Mount Vernon HS) and Tyler Mandel (Scarsdale, NY/Scarsdale HS), and a Monroe error put runners at the corners with one out. A Steve Guzman (Bronx, NY/John F. Kennedy HS) sacrifice fly made it a 5-4 game, but also brought the Vikings to their final out. That's when things got wild. 

A Messerschmitt walk put runners on first and second base with two outs. During the very next pitch to sophomore Joe Desanctis (Brewster, NY/Fox Lane HS), the Monroe pitcher balked, putting runners on second and third. Two pitches later, Desanctis grounded the ball to third base, and the ball was promptly booted for a game-tying error, which ultimately led to extra innings.

In entered Messerschmitt. The lefty pitched two nearly flawless innings to take things into the 10th inning. Messerschmitt was relieved by Gomez, who allowed only two hits over four innings, and was never really threatened. From the eighth through the 12th innings, Westchester had the winning run in scoring position, only to be denied by the Monroe bullpen. 

Finally, the game ended in the thirteenth frame, with Messerschmitt once again in the middle of things. After he opened the inning with a walk, that was followed by a Michael Cox (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas HS) walk to put runners at first and second base. Up came Parshley, who ripped a single to right field to score Messerschmitt and end the game.

Aside from his heroic efforts on the mound, Messerschmitt went 2 for 5 with two walks, and RBI, and a run scored.  Spence went 3 for 4 with three walks, an RBI, and a run scored. Also for Westchester, Parshley and Mandel each had two hits. Gomez earned the win in relief, capping off a stellar effort by the Viking bullpen as they did not allow a single earned run over nine innings of work. 
 

The nightcap saw Westchester score three times in the opening inning, and never look back, thanks to a dominant complete game performance by Optaciano Polo (Yonkers, NY/Cardinal Hayes). After the Vikings had to go to the bullpen for nine innings during the opener, Polo gave WCC exactly what they needed for game two as he was simply dominant. Over seven innings, Polo allowed only two runs, struck out 11, and walked only two batters to give Westchester a commanding win.

It was a 3-2 Westchester lead heading into the bottom of the third inning when Sean Vanegas (Bronx, NY/Mount St. Michael) singled home a run with he bases loaded, and Jhojandy Hernandez (Bronx, NY/Salesian) followed with an RBI walk to make it a 5-2 game, which was all Polo needed.

Seven different Vikings combined for eight hits, with Guzman racking up two of his own, and Parshley, Vanegas, and Hernandez each had an RBI.

After five games during a three-day span, Westchester CC returns to action on Sunday, March 17 when the Vikings host Holyoke Community College for a 12:00 doubleheader. The games will be played at Nyack High School.