BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Baseball team began Commonwealth Coast Conference play with a cold and windy doubleheader sweep of Wentworth Institute of Technology Monday afternoon, winning the games by scores of 4-1 and 14-4. In the process, RWU Head Coach Derek Carlson collected his 200th career win at Roger Williams.
In the opener, Wentworth took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first, with Jon Spitz (Hanover, Mass.) coming in off of an RBI groundout by Joe Hulme (Tewksbury, Mass.). In the bottom of the inning, the Hawks gained the lead, beginning with a dropped fly ball in center that would have ended the inning.
Instead, John Oppenhimer (Westport, Conn.) scored on the error to tie the game at one and extend the inning. Matt Jefferis (Cheshire, Conn.) followed with an RBI single to score Reid Nelson (Wallingford, Conn.) and give the Hawks the lead.
After the first, neither team's offense could muster any runs until the Hawks finally tacked on two more scores in the bottom of the sixth, with Mike Thomas (Plainville, Conn.) bringing in Adam Risman (Andover, Mass.) with an RBI triple. Tyler Campo (Wrentham, Mass.) came in later on a wild pitch to make it a 4-1 Hawk lead.
In the top of the seventh, Johnny Ryan (Brant Rock, Mass.) singled to start the inning, and the Leopards eventually managed to bring the tying run to the plate. However, Tyler Pogmore (Lebanon, Conn.) came on with two outs to induce a lineout to first and earn his third save of the year.
Sean Boyle (Arlington, Mass.) pitched another gem for his third win, going 6.2 innings while giving up only one unearned run on four hits with four strikeouts. Oppenhimer was 2-for-2 with a run scored, while Jefferis and Thomas were each 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Dakota Baird (Bermuda Dunes, Calif.) took the loss, giving up four runs (two earned) in six innings of work. Spitz finished 3-for-4 with a run, while Ryan was 1-for-2.
In the second game, the Hawks opened up with three runs in the first, highlighted by a two-RBI single by Jefferis. RWU added three more in the second, capped off by a two-run double by Nelson.
Wentworth's Ryan Delgado (Wareham, Mass.) put the Leopards on the board in the second with a sac fly to center to score Scott Ouellette (Lewiston, Maine). Wentworth would add one more in the third on an RBI double by Jake Mailman (Medway, Mass.).
However, the Hawk offense continued to crank out runs, putting three on the board in the fifth and four in the sixth. By the top of the seventh, the Leopards found themselves trailing 14-2. Wentworth managed two more runs in the final at-bat but could not overcome the large deficit.
Dan Julian (Stratford, Conn.) tossed the first three innings, giving up two runs with three Ks, while Keith Chamberlain (Columbia, Conn.) closed the game out with four innings of work, allowing two unearned runs with six punch-outs.
Five Hawks finished with multiple hits, including Oppenhimer, who was a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored. Mike Pascarella (Milford, Conn.) went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Paul Vergara (Needham, Mass.) suffered the loss, giving up seven runs in two innings of work. Spitz finished 2-for-4 at the dish, while Mailman went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Roger Williams (8-6, 2-0 CCC) Tuesday afternoon road game against WPI has been moved to Bristol, so the Hawks will host the Engineers tomorrow at 3:30, while Wentworth Institute of Technology (8-4, 0-2 CCC) will head to Johnson & Wales on Friday.
