Baseball Rallies Twice to Sweep Pine Manor

BROCKTON, Mass. – Junior Dan Mitchell's (Avon, Mass.) two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning capped off a five-run rally and enabled the Wentworth Institute of Technology baseball team to complete a sweep against Pine Manor College with an 8-7 win. The Leopards battled back to take game one, 12-6.

GAME ONE:  Wentworth 12, Pine Manor 6
Pine Manor took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, thanks to an RBI double from sophomore Randall Adams (Garden Grove, Calif.). An inning later, the Gators increased their lead to 5-0 with sophomore Isaiah Mack (Montville, Conn.) scoring on an error, sophomore Evan Reynolds (Everett, Mass.) driving in a run with a groundout, junior Terry Daniels (Auburn, N.Y.) scoring senior Brian Jones (Detroit, Mich.) with a single and Adams delivering an RBI single.

Wentworth got two runs back in the third inning. Sophomore Aidan French (Chicago, Ill.) led off with a walk and went to second on am error on a failed pickoff attempt. With one out, senior Andrew Elliott (Rockland, Mass.) singled in French, and with two outs, Elliott went to second on a wild pitch and came around to score on a senior Ross Golebiewski (Lyme, Conn.) RBI single.

The Gators got a run back in the top of the fourth as Daniels doubled in Reynolds to make it 6-2. In the home half of the inning, freshman Matt Bishop (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) led off with a walk and, with two outs, went to second on a wild pitch. Mitchell doubled him home to make it 6-3.

The fifth inning saw the Black & Gold score nine times – all before an out was recorded. Senior Jake Smith (Orange, Conn.) had a two-run double and eventually scored on a wild pitch, freshman Matt Masciadrelli (Westfield, Mass.) had an RBI single, Mitchell had a two-run single, French had an RBI single, and French scored on a double steal play.

Freshman Matt Perconti (Hancock, Maine) picked up the win (2-2), allowing six runs (two earned) on eight hits, and striking out four in the complete-game effort. Elliott, Golebiewski, and Mitchell each had two hits with Mitchell driving in three runs.

Sophomore Lorenzo Pantaleo (Boston, Mass.) took the loss (0-3), allowing eight runs on seven hits in four innings. Daniels was 3-for-4 with two RBI.

GAME TWO:  Wentworth 8, Pine Manor 7
Just like game one, Pine Manor struck first, scoring three times in the top of the first inning. Mack was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded while sophomore Eduardy Baez (Boston, Mass.) plated sophomore Ronnie Thomas (Albany, N.Y.) with a sacrifice fly. On the play, Daniels scored on an error.

Wentworth made it 3-1 in the bottom of the third inning when freshman Nolan McManus (Milton, Mass.) singled in French, who hit a two-out single and stole second. The Gators got a run back in the top of the fifth on an RBI single off the bat of Daniels, however, French cut the lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the inning when he hit a first pitch, two-run home run which scored Masciadrelli who had led off the inning with a double.

The Gators pushed their lead to 6-3 with a pair of runs in the sixth inning as Thomas and Daniels each had RBI singles and made it a 7-3 game with a run in the top of the seventh as Baez doubled in Mack.

Wentworth's comeback began with a French leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh. While he was erased when McManus reached on a fielder's choice, McManus went to second on a wild pitch and scored when Elliott reached on an error. Smith singled Elliott to second and the Leopards loaded the bases when Golebiewski singled before a two-run single from Bishop made it 7-6. With runners on first and second, sophomore Kyle Litwin (Jacksonville, Fla.) drew a walk off of junior reliever Garrett Gagnon (Randolph, Vt.) to load the bases. Masciadrelli grounded into a fielder's choice which forced the tying run, Golebiewski, out at home. With two outs, Mitchell stepped up and pushed a single through the right side to score freshman pinch runner Nolan Freeman (Braintree, Mass.) with the tying run and Litwin with the winning run.

Junior Ryan Joyce (Avon, Mass.) picked up the win in relief, allowing one run on two hits in an inning of work. Freshman Jared Knowles (Concord, N.H.) started, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits in four innings. At the plate, French and Bishop were both 3-for-4 with two RBI, while McManus, Smith, and Golebiewski each had two hits.

Gagnon took the loss for the Gators, who got six starting innings from sophomore Alec Hanney (Leominster, Mass.) who allowed three runs on 10 hits and struck out nine. Six different players had two hits apiece, including Daniels and Baez who also drove in two runs each.

Wentworth resumes Commonwealth Coast Conference play Friday at Curry.

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