Baseball Drops Two in Season Finale at Suffolk

EAST BOSTON, Mass. –The Wentworth Institute of Technology baseball team finished off the 2022 season Saturday, May 7. The Leopards dropped game one of their doubleheader to Suffolk University 6-4, then fell 19-1 in game two of Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action.

The Leopards finish the season at 13-18 and 3-13 in CCC play, while Suffolk improved to 22-18 overall and 6-10 in the conference.

Suffolk 6, Wentworth 4

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Sophomore Christian Peruzzi (Plymouth, Mass.) got Wentworth started in the top of the first with a one-out double, followed by a single from senior Kyle O'Neill (Haverhill, Mass.), but the Leopards couldn't get a run across in the inning, leaving both runners stranded on base.
• The Rams threatened in the bottom of the first as well, and following a pair of singles and passed ball had runners on second and third with one out. Suffolk loaded the bases after a walk, but pitcher Jon Campbell (Snohomish, Wash.) picked up a key strikeout to keep the game scoreless after one.
• Wentworth couldn't capitalize on a leadoff single by graduate student Aidan French (Chicago, Ill.) in the second, and the home team jumped in front in their turn at bat. Blase Cormier (Wayland, Mass.) got it started with a leadoff double, then came around to score on a Wentworth error. Shane Lake (West Roxbury, Mass.) also came home on the play, giving Suffolk a 2-0 lead.
• The Leopards got one back in the top of the third, as senior Kyle Desjardins (North Granby, Conn.) led off with a single. After a ground-rule double by Peruzzi put two runners in scoring position, an RBI groundout by sophomore Michael Petit (Sandwich, Mass.) got the visitors on the board, making it a 2-1 game going to the bottom of the third.
• A triple to start the inning put the Rams in position to get the run back, and they were able to do so on an RBI groundout by Cormier to go ahead by two. The home team added two more in the fourth, as Christian Seariac (Framingham, Mass.) connected on an RBI double to left-center, putting runners on second and third. Three batters later, Marc Birbiglia (Saint James, N.Y.) singled to left, scoring a pair and extending the Rams' lead to 6-1.
• After neither team got anything going offensively in the fifth, the Leopards had a chance to get back in it in the top of the sixth. With one out, Petit doubled to left, followed by a single from senior Nolan Freeman (Braintree, Mass.). But once again, Wentworth stranded a pair in scoring position, as the next two batters couldn't bring the baserunners home.
• Wentworth inched a little closer in the seventh, as senior Nolan McManus (Milton, Mass.) drove in the second run of the day with an RBI double to make it a 6-2 game. But a pair of flyouts and a strikeout ended the inning, leaving McManus on second base.
• After no scoring in the eighth, the Leopards had their last chance in the ninth and after having two out and nobody on, started to rally. Desjardins and Peruzzi got it started with back-to-back singles, and an error allowed both of them to come around to score, bringing the score to 6-4 as Wentworth brought the tying run to the plate. However, a strikeout ended the game as Suffolk held on for a two-run victory in the first game of the day.

Suffolk 19, Wentworth 1 (7 innings)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wentworth got on the board in the top of the first, as Desjardins led the game off with a double down the left field line. He then came in on a sacrifice fly by O'Neill, giving the Leopards the early lead.
• Suffolk went on top in the bottom of the second, first scoring the tying run on a Wentworth error, then taking the lead on a two-run triple by Seariac, going ahead 3-1 after two.
• The home team added one to their lead in the third, scoring seven times to break the game open. Michael James Jr. (Norwood, Mass.) got it started with a two-run double, and Cormier picked up an RBI double of his own. After another RBI hit made it 7-1, Seariac made it a nine-run lead for the Rams with a three-run homer.
• Suffolk kept it up in the fourth, scoring six more runs in the inning. A walk forced in a run, then Seariac singled home two more. A trio of RBI singles by the Rams plated three more, as the home team went ahead 16-1 at the end of four.
• Suffolk scored the rest of their runs in the fifth, as Jonny Gilbride (Beverly, Mass.) and Gino Desimone (Medford, Mass.) both delivered RBI singles in the inning. Seariac grounded into a double play as another run scored, bringing the score to 19-1.
• Desjardins had two hits and one run for the Leopards in the game, while O'Neill went 1-for-1 with an RBI.

ALL-TIME SERIES:

• These were the 18^th and 19^th games between the teams, with Suffolk now leading the series 16-3.

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