For the second game in a row, Dublin trailed by three runs heading into the bottom of the 6th inning. And for the second game in a row, the Gaels scored two runs in the 6th to trim their deficit to one run, loaded the bases in the 7th, and secured a walk-off home victory on a base-hit by Brendan Moddelmog.
In Monday’s win over Irvington, Dublin was trailing 5-4 before Moddelmog delivered the game-winning hit which allowed Dublin to prevail 6-5. The previous week, Moddelmog performed similar heroics when his 7th-inning hit lifted the Gaels to a 5-4 win over Dougherty Valley. In last week’s win over the Wildcats, Dublin overcame a 4-1 deficit heading into the 6th, while on Monday’s win over the Vikings the Gaels came back after trailing 5-2 heading into the 6th.
Noah Charlton and Elijah McNeal each collected two hits at the plate to lead the Gaels offensively in Monday’s win, while Brandt Nunemacher and Daniel Ureno each had RBI’s.
Dublin needed the win to remain eligible for postseason consideration by the North Coast Section’s Division 1 Seeding Committee. Despite finishing the regular season under .500 at 11-13 overall, the Gaels finish with a .500 record in Division 1 which makes them able to qualify. However, a loss in either of Dublin’s final two home games against either Dougherty Valley or Irvington would have knocked the Gaels out of the playoff picture, so the late-game heroics were critical to potentially extend the season.
There are certainly no guarantees that Dublin will be selected by the Seeding Committee, but based upon Dublin’s very strong strength of schedule combined with some quality wins throughout the year, there is a decent likelihood that the Gaels will make the playoffs. The North Coast Section will be announcing its selections for the tournament this Saturday morning, at which time the Gaels will find out their fate. Either way, the wins in the final two games were a thrilling way to end the regular season and keep the Gaels in the postseason conversations.
