The New Bedford Bay Sox waited until the final game of their 2018 season to pick up their best and most dramatic win of the year, walking it off in the 11th inning for a thrilling 6-5 win over the playoff-bound Ocean State Waves on Wednesday night.
Kevin Huscher (Quinnipiac) singled to deep center field with the bases loaded in the 11th to bring home Austin Markmann (Sacred Heart) and cap a late inning comeback.  The Bay Sox trailed 5-1 in the eighth inning, then scored four times in the eighth before Huscher’s heroics in the 11th.
Brent Teller (Sacred Heart) hurled three scoreless innings for the victory, with three strikeouts including a huge one to end the top of the 11th and leave an Ocean State runner at third base.  Markmann had a terrific night at the plate, ripping three hits, driving in three runs, and scoring the winning run.  
Tyler Zell (Suffolk) took the hill to begin the season finale for New Bedford, earning his first start after 13 appearances out of the Bay Sox’ bullpen.  Zell ran into some trouble early, as a leadoff walk to Liam McArthur proved costly, with cleanup hitter Ryan Ward driving him in from second base for an early 1-0 Ocean State lead.  The Waves had three base runners and three steals in the first, and stranded two ducks on the pond on the corners.
The Bay Sox countered with a solo run in the bottom of the second inning, as a throwing error by third baseman Grant English placed Ryan Markey (St. John’s) at second base with one down.  Markmann doubled over the head of left fielder Jacob Partridge to plate Markey and tie the game at 1-1.
Zell looked sharp after the shaky first inning, shutting down the Waves for the next three innings until the road squad regained the lead in the fifth.  A beautiful bunt single down the third base line by Partridge got their rally going.  Partridge stole second, and came home on a fly ball to deep right field by English that went off the glove of right fielder Tommy Seidl (Harvard).  The wind, which was gutsy and blowing from right to left as normal at Paul Walsh Field, was playing tricks on fly balls all night long.
Zell left the game after five innings of work, allowing two runs on four hits with three Ks and three walks in what was by far his longest outing of the season.  Zell was replaced by Noah Stern (Barry), who tossed a quick 1-2-3 inning on 14 pitches.
New Bedford had a golden opportunity to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth, as Elijah Brown (Sacred Heart) led off with a single, then stole second and ended up at third after an errant throw by the catcher.  Ocean State starting pitcher Zemp Schwab responded by striking out Robert Emery (San Francisco), Karsten Sherman (Keiser), and Markey to strand Brown just 90 feet away.
Jack Owens (Bryant) pitched the seventh, giving up an insurance run on two hits, with McArthur singling home shortstop David Chabut.  Logan Maitland (UMass Dartmouth) was rudely greeted by the heart of the Ocean State lineup, as a single by Cullen Smith turned into three bases after a fielding error by Christian Aybar (New England College).  Ryan Ward followed with a blast to left field that struck the foul pole for a 5-1 lead.
Once Schwab left the game in the eighth, the Bay Sox offense finally came alive, pounding three hits and plating four runs off reliever Jake Walker to tie the game at 5-5.  The majority of the damage was done with two down, as consecutive walks from Emery and Sherman loaded the bases for Markey, who knocked a single off of English at third – which struck him in the face and required him to leave the game.  A wild pitch scored the third run and moved Sherman and Markey up into scoring position, and Markmann laced the tying base hit to left field to score both teammates.
Teller and Ocean State reliever Peyton Deats were spectacular during the late innings, but Deats was pulled as the 11th inning started, and New Bedford took full advantage to send the crowd of faithful fans and host families home happy for the final time in 2018.