Garden City, N.Y. - In an instant classic to open NE10 postseason play, the No. 1 seed Adelphi University baseball team overcame two-run deficits in the eighth and ninth and won 5-4 in 11 innings against fourth-seeded The College of Saint Rose in an NE10 Championship first-round match-up at William J. Bonomo Memorial Field on Tuesday.

After tossing a seven-inning shutout against the Panthers (29-11-2) last weekend, Randall Alejo took the ball for Saint Rose (20-29) in extras.

The result was different this time. Anthony Cipri led off the 11th with a single up the middle. He was then sacrificed to second by Jack Wishner, which set the stage for Cooper Johnson's heroics.

On his birthday no less, Johnson -- with the count not in his favor at 1-2 -- still slashed a game-winning RBI single up the middle for the team's first walk-off victory of 2022.

Not to be outdone. Adelphi pulled off two incredible comebacks that led up to Johnson's winning hit.

First, in the eighth, Michael Draskin -- in his return since the Le Moyne series -- delivered a game-tying, two-out, two-RBI single to left field that leveled the score at 2-all.

Even despite giving the two runs back, the Panthers rallied against Saint Rose reliever Carson Stewart in the ninth. With Jose Matos stepping into a pinch-hit role and two runners in scoring position, Wishner scored on a wild pitch and Matos dunked in an RBI single on Stewart's next offering to tie the game at 4-4.

The game started out as a pitcher's duel between Adelphi starter Nicolas Luc and Saint Rose starter Jared Restmeyer.

Both pitchers traded dueling zeroes for four innings, until Saint Rose's Jack McDonald broke through with a two-RBI double to left-center field that opened the scoring.

While Alejo eventually took the mound for the Saint Rose, as did John Rizzo for Adelphi. Rizzo worked three sparkling innings for his eighth victory of the season. He has won each of his last six decisions.

The Panthers now await their next opponent and marching orders for where to travel for the double-elimination portion of the 2022 NE10 Championship. More information will be announced as it becomes available.