Box Score BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Baseball staved off elimination with a 4-3 comeback win over Wentworth Institute of Technology Saturday afternoon in the second round of The Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament.
Sean Boyle (Arlington, Mass.) got off to a good start for Roger Williams. After hitting Jon Spitz (Hanover, Mass.) on a breaking ball that got away, he went to work, striking out the next thee Leopards in order to get out of the first.
Wentworth's Ben Lewis (Middletown, R.I.) fared just as well in his first stint on the mound. He allowed a lead-off single to Mike Pascarella (Milford, Conn.) but was able to induce a 6-4-3 double play on the next at-bat, then got out of the inning with a ground-out to short.
Neither team was able to get anything going in the second inning. Wentworth's Jordan Burst (Jackson, N.J.) reached on an infield error but was thrown out at second by Chris Travers (East Freetown, Mass.), while Greg Confessore (West Hartford, Conn.) was forced out at second for the final out of the inning. The Hawks went three-up, three-down in their at-bat, thanks a couple of good defensive plays by Spitz and Lewis.
In the fourth, a couple of Hawk defensive miscues helped Wentworth get on the board first. Joe Hulme (Tewksbury, Mass.) got on via an infield error, while Jake Mailman (Medway, Mass.) followed with a single past short. A ground-out and hit batter loaded the bases with only one out. Confessore hit a grounder to third that looked like a potential double-play ball, but a misplay allowed Spitz to score and keep the bases full. Scott Ouellette (Lewiston, Maine) lined out to right for a sac fly to bring in another Leopard run. Paul Dassau (Franklin, Mass.) capped off the rally with an RBI single to put Wentworth up 3-0.
RWU had a chance to get a couple of the runs back in the bottom of the inning, as Pascarella and Caulin Rogers (Gloucester, Mass.) got on base to lead off the inning. Yet Pascarella was thrown out at third on a double steal attempt, followed by a pop-out to second. Travers put a good swing on the ball but had his deep fly ball to left caught for the third out.
The Hawks were able to break through in the bottom of the fifth. Reid Nelson (Wallingford, Conn.) led off with a base hit through the left side. Mike Thomas (Plainville, Conn.) stepped up to the plate next and ripped a long shot over the right field fence for a two-run homer and bring the Hawks within one.
Both teams threated for more runs in the sixth. Wentworth flirted with two runners on and two outs before Boyle caught a come-backer and flipped it to first for the final out. In the Hawks' half, Rogers got on off of one-out single, but would be thrown out trying to steal second for the third out.
In the seventh, Wentworth brought runners to first and second with two outs before Tyler Pogmore (Lebanon, Conn.) came on to relieve Boyle. He would get Confessore to strike out looking and escape out of the inning. In the bottom half, Travers beat out a throw on a great backhand stop by Spitz and short for an infield hit in the bottom of the seventh. After Nelson sacrificed him over to second, Thomas notched a base hit to left field to send Travers to third. However, a misplay on the ball in left allowed Travers to score the game-tying run after being held up at third. A wild pitch moved Thomas up one bases, giving Kevin Baker (Wilbraham, Mass.) the opportunity to score him with an RBI single.
Pogmore shut down the Leopard offense in the eighth and ninth to secure the victory for RWU. He struck out the side in the eighth after giving up a lead-off walk, then set down Wentworth 1-2-3 in the ninth for his ninth save of the year.
Boyle picked up the win for RWU, giving up three unearned runs in 6.2 innings with eight strikeouts. Thomas finished 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI, while Rogers was 2-for-4.
Lewis took the loss for Wentworth, giving up four runs (two earned) in seven innings. Dassau finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Mailman and Confessore each went 1-for-4.
Roger Williams (23-15) will head to Gordon tomorrow to face the Fighting Scots, who fell 15-1 to Western New England earlier in the day. Wentworth Institute of Technology ends the season at 15-18.