Baseball Edged Twice in Season-Opening Doubleheader

AUBURNDALE, Florida – Taking the field for the first time in the 2019 season, the Wentworth Institute of Technology baseball team dropped a pair of one-run contests to Hilbert. The Leopards were defeated, 5-4, in game one, and, after trailing 9-3 entering the seventh inning, scored five times before falling, 9-8.

GAME ONE:  Hilbert 5, Wentworth 4
Wentworth took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, thanks to a junior Devin Haberstumpf (Forest Hills, N.Y.) double which brought in junior Owen Swanson (New Milford, Conn.). The Leopards doubled their lead two innings later when senior Andrew Elliott (Rockland, Mass.) grounded out to score freshman Maat Masciadrelli (Westfield, Mass.).

Hilbert tied the score at 2-all in the top of the fourth inning when a run scored after a two-out error and the next batter laced a triple to right center. The Leopards reclaimed the lead in the home half of the fourth when freshman Nolan Freeman (Braintree, Mass.) singled in senior Jake Smith (Orange, Conn.).

The Hawks scored three times in the fifth inning to take a 5-3 lead, thanks to a sacrifice fly, a steal of home, and a two-run double. Wentworth pulled within a run in the bottom of the seventh when Masciadrelli drew a leadoff walk, went to second on a Swanson groundout, and moved to third on a sophomore Aidan French (Chicago, Ill.) single. He came in to score when Elliott grounded out, which also moved French to second. French went to third on a wild pitch, however, he was stranded there when a flyout ended the contest.

Junior Ryan Obin (Plymouth, Mass.) took the loss as he allowed five runs (one earned) on five hits, walked three, and struck out a career-high 10 batters in six innings of work. Smith was 2-for-2 while Elliott drove in a pair of runs.

GAME TWO:  Hilbert 9, Wentworth 8
Wentworth found itself trailing 6-0 after the first inning of play as Hilbert scored a half a dozen times in its first at bat. Two of the runs came on a triple while two more came on a two-run single. An inning later, a wild pitch plated the Hawks' seventh run of the game. Hilbert added single runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to increase its lead 9-0, thanks to a pair of RBI singles.

The Leopards got on the board in the top of the fifth inning as the Black & Gold scored three times. A single to shortstop by senior Ross Golebiewski (Lyme, Conn.) scored freshman Justin Kirst (Boston, N.Y.) while freshman Matt Bishop (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) scored when classmate Nolan Freeman (Braintree, Mass.) grounded into a double play. Wentworth's third run of the inning came when freshman Nolan McManus (Milton, Mass.) scored Smith with an RBI single.

Trailing 9-3 headed into its last at bat, Wentworth nearly pulled off the comeback, scoring five times in the inning to make it 9-8. Walks by McManus, freshman Nate Ladeira (Fall River, Mass.), and sophomore Craig Rich (Billerica, Mass.) loaded the bases with no outs before back-to-back, one-out walks from Kirst and Bishop and a two-run double from Smith made it 9-7. Golebiewski delivered a sacrifice fly which scored Bishop, however, a strikeout ended the comeback bid as the Leopards fell, 9-8.

Golebiewski was 2-for-3 with two RBI while Smith, who finished the day with four hits, was 2-for-5 and drove in two runs. Senior Ben Rexford (Lancaster, N.H.) took the loss (0-1).

Wentworth has a twinbill against Penn State-Fayette on Monday morning.

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