BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Baseball team needed two wins Saturday afternoon to advance to the TCCC Championship game. The Hawks were only able to get one, as RWU defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology 9-8 then fell to the Leopards 9-3.

 

In the first game, the Hawks grabbed an early lead in the first on a two-RBI by Alex Perry (Glastonbury, Conn.), scoring Matt Berte (Marlborough, Mass.) and Jamie Dahill (South Boston, Mass.). Wentworth responded with a leadoff double by Doug Papuga, who later scored on Jake McManus' (Hopkinton, N.H.) RBI single. Pete Oggeri (Sandy Hook, Conn.) followed with a two-run homer to give the Leopards a one-run lead.

 

Grant Bolin (Simsbury, Conn.) quickly erased the deficit, riding the first pitch of the second to left center to tie the game at three. The Leopards then rallied back in the third, getting the first two batters of the inning on second and third via two walks and a wild pitch. Ben Danker (Branford, Conn.) brought in the two runners with an RBI single, which was followed up by another RBI single by Doug Papuga (Branford, Conn.). By the end of the inning, Wentworth had gone up 7-3.

 

Trailing 8-3 in the fifth, Perry helped edge RWU back closer into the game with a solo shot to center. Tony Verrochi (Norwood, Mass.) and Andrew Haycock (Medfield, Conn) helped start a two-out rally with a pair of singles, followed by Bolin reaching after strike three got past the catcher. Bill Lambert (Hanover, Mass.) then lined a hard grounder that was stabbed by the third baseman, yet Haycock's hustle allowed him to reach the base before the tag was made, scoring Verrochi to make it 8-5.

 

In the seventh, the Hawks continued to creep back into the game, getting a solo home run from Lambert to cut the gap to two. Perry came through with a two-out, full count RBI single up the middle to bring home Berte and pull within one. Zach Porter (Middleboro, Mass.) continued the rally with a game-tying RBI single to center field, bringing in Kevin Simpson (Londonderry, N.H.) to knot the game at eight apiece. Verrochi followed with an RBI single of his own to give the Hawks their first lead since the first inning. Perry came home from second but Porter was thrown out at the plate attempting to score from first. Billy Dunn (Fiskdale, Mass.) came with two outs in the eighth, stranding runners at first and third to stop the tying run from scoring. He then worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his tenth save of the year.

 

Mike Malcolm (Brockton, Mass.) earned the win, pitching 5.2 innings of one-run relief for Sam Podbelski (East Greenwich, R.I.), who allowed seven runs in two innings. Matt Chymbor (Meriden, Conn.) took the loss, getting touched for four runs (one earned) in 1.2 innings.

 

Perry was 4-for-5 with four RBI for the Hawks, while Lambert and Bolin each added two hits and a run scored. Papuga went 2-for-3 with two runs scored for the Leopards while teammate McManus had two hits, two RBI, and a run scored.

 

In the double elimination game, Wentworth's Anthony Carbone (Goshen, Conn.) and Danker led off the second with back-to-back singles. The two crossed the plate on RBI singles by Jarrett Ament (Boylston, Mass.) and McManus. Carbone followed that effort with a home run in the third. The Leopards' three-run lead doubled to six in the fourth with a leadoff solo shot by Ament and a two-run homer by Nick Cunningham (Pembroke, Mass.).

 

The Hawks had an opportunity to put some runs on the board in the fifth, when a potential two-run home run by Justin Reyes (Lincoln, R.I.) was ruled a ground rule double. RWU ended the inning stranding runners at second and third. The Hawks managed to score their first run in the eighth inning when Reyes scored from second on a throwing error by the catcher. The Hawks put two more on the board in their final at-bat, getting a two-run homer from Bolin. Yet the following three batters were retired in order, sending the Leopards to the championship game.

 

Wentworth's Mo Gardner (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) went the distance, allowing three runs (two earned) and nine hits over the game. The Leopard offense served up 20 hits in the game, including four by Carbone and three each by Danker, Ament, and Mike Roberts (Chelmsford, Mass.).

 

PJ Gouthro (Walpole, Mass.) lasted 3.2 innings in the loss, getting tagged for 12 hits and six runs. Reyes had a season-high three hits with two runs scored, while Bolin was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored.

 

Wentworth (30-12) advances to tomorrow's 1:00 p.m. TCCC Championship game, where they will take on Western New England College, who defeated Salve Regina 9-1 to earn the berth. Roger Williams ends the season 32-12 with a school-record 20-2 TCCC finish.