Dannenhoffer Improves to 7-0 as Wentworth Staves Off Elimination
Leopards score two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to snap a 1-all tie, advance to play top-seeded Curry Friday. Ben Danker reaches 100-hit plateau
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BROOKLINE, Mass. – Freshman Alex Wong's (Lewiston, Maine) RBI single with one out in the fifth inning snapped a 1-all tie, while senior Matt Dannenhoffer (Bethany, Conn.) improved to 7-0 by pitching a solid eight innings as the Wentworth baseball team advanced in the 2010 The Commonwealth Coast Conference Baseball Tournament with a 4-1 win over Gordon in an elimination round game.
The fourth-seeded Leopards had a chance to get on the board in the opening frame when sophomore Conner Flisnik (Marcy, N.Y.) drew a one-out walk and went to second on an errant pickoff attempt. Junior Ben Danker (Branford, Conn.) singled through the right side – becoming the 13th player in program history to reach the 100-hit plateau – with two outs, but Fisnik was thrown out at the plate to end the inning. An inning later Wentworth took a 1-0 lead after junior Jake McManus (Hopkinton, Mass.) drew a leadoff walk and was sacrificed to second by classmate Mike Diodato (Asbury, N.J.). After a strikeout, sophomore Justin Bolla (Newburyport, Mass.) singled up the middle, scoring McManus.
Gordon drew even in the fourth inning after senior Andrew Zgrablich (Doylestown, Pa.) led off with a walk and stole second. A one-out single from junior Stephen Myren (Vernon, N.J.) placed runners at the corners, but sophomore Eric Wolak's (Trumbull, Conn.) bunt attempt back went back to Dannenhoffer, who threw home to senior Pete Oggeri (Sandy Hook, Conn.), getting Zgrablich and putting Myren on third. Wolak would then attempt to steal second and on the pickoff attempt, Myhren broke for home where he was safe on a dropped tag.
Freshman Ryan Delgado (Wareham, Mass.) led off the fifth inning with a walk and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Bolla. Wong laced a single right center, which scored Delgado, and after Wong stole second, he scored on a ground-rule double from Flisnik to make it a 3-1 game. The Leopards got an additional run in the eighth inning when Oggeri reached on an infield single and went to second on an error. Oggeri moved up 90 feet on a flyout by Danker and came around to score on an RBI single by McManus to left.
Dannenhoffer scattered four hits and allowed an unearned run in eight innings to remain undefeated on the season. Senior Scott Borges (Westport, Mass.) came on in the ninth to close the game and stranded Zgrablich, who led off with a walk and stole second, to earn his fifth save of the season. Offensively, Bolla was 2-for-2 with an RBI, while McManus collected two hits and drove in a run.
Senior Stephen Kefalas (Wenham, Mass.) allowed three runs on six hits and struck out three in seven innings to fall to 2-6 on the season. In addition to having one of the Fighting Scots' four hits Zgrablich swiped two bases.
With the win, Wentworth improves to 25-13 and advances to face top-seeded Curry tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. in a third-round game. The two teams split the regular-season doubleheader with Wentworth taking the first game, 4-2, and the Colonels winning the nightcap, 19-6. The two teams last met in TCCC Tournament in 2007 with Curry winning, 11-7. Gordon sees its season come to a close with a 16-20 record.