Behind Mendenhall stood the impenetrable Mason defense, including first baseman Derek Blodgett, second baseman John Schwengel and outfielder Ting. Together the Mason defense shut down the Rams’ powerful offense for the first five innings of the game.

The ‘Stangs jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning after a trick base-running play performed perfectly by the Mustangs’ Sean Follin and Jimmy Piscopo. Unfortunately, Mendenhall could not hold off the Rams’ pursuit, and Strasburg pitcher Parker Neil’s hit resulted in an eventual run for the Rams that tied the game 2-2.  For the next two innings, until the end of regulation play, the Rams and ‘Stangs stayed even at two runs a piece.

In the eighth inning the Rams gave the Mustangs a scare, loading the bases. With a crack of the bat the Rams hit a shot to right field, but outfielder Ting made the difficult catch to end the assault.  The standoff continued into the 10^th inning until Ting hit a shot to the Rams’ second baseman who could not come up with the clean out. With two sacrifice bunts in a row Ting advanced to third base with two outs. At the plate John Schwengel focused on Neil’s 86 mph fastball and nailed the ball into shallow right field, driving in the winning run for the Mustangs. Greeted at home plate by a mob of Mason players and screaming fans, Schwengel later said, “I’m just glad we came out with the victory, and we proved to be the more determined team.”  Teammate Derek Blodgett said, “It’s fun to be part of a game this exciting, especially when we came out on top…I just hope we can keep the streak alive.”