Falcons walk off with season ending victory

In Saturday's season finale, the teams agreed to make it a 7-inning game.  In the second inning, the Beavers scored on a walk, a hit batter, and a single – one of only two hits they would get all game – to take a 1-0 lead.  Meanwhile, the Falcon bats were silenced by the Beavers' Matt Kelly, who didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning.  The Falcon pitching staff was equal to the task, however, as they shut out the Beavers on one hit over six innings.  The Falcons finally broke through in the 6^th inning when sophomore Trey Furrey launched a 1-out triple to deep right-center.  Troy Shields brought him home with a booming double to nearly the same spot to tie the game at 1-1.  After neither team scored in the seventh, the game went to extra innings with the automatic runner rule in place (runner on 2^nd base to start the inning).  The Beavers scored on a Falcon throwing error of a routine ground ball to make it 2-1, but Tim Ryhan got a strikeout and a groundout to strand a runner on third and limit the damage.  In the bottom half of the 8^th, the Beavers misplayed a high popup in shallow left field to allow Troy Shields to reach first.  A perfectly executed double-steal put Trey Furrey on third and Shields on second with no outs.  Outfielder Matt Smith then tied the game with sacrifice fly to deep right, also advancing Shields to third.  When the Beaver pitcher bounced a pitch six feet in front of home plate, Shields played it safe and stayed at third as the ball caromed off the padding and back toward the catcher.  But in the excitement, the ARC catcher threw to the pitcher covering home and sailed it over his head.  The alert Shields scampered home with the winning run as the Falcon dugout erupted over the 3-2 walk-off victory.