NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. – Sophomore shortstop Nicholas Ferragine (Randolph, N.J.) laced a double to leftfield in the bottom of the seventh inning of game one to give the Lynx the 3-2, walk-off, win. Junior right-hander Tom Muratore (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) earned his third victory of the season tossing a complete game allowing one earned run while striking out three batters.
With the game all square at two, sophomore second baseman Vincent Taliercio (Valley Stream, N.Y.) set the table, opening the home half of the seventh with a double. Moments later he advanced 90 feet on an infield chopper off the bat of sophomore backstop Jacob Cervantes (Oxnard, Calif.). The Lynx were threating with runners at the corners and no outs against, then, undefeated Nighthawk senior right-hander Ethan Forrest (East Bridgewater, Mass.).
As the winning run was just 90 feet away and nobody out the Nighthawks went to a five-man infield. Senior Brian Rhone (North Haven, Conn.) entered as the fifth infielder replacing first year leftfielder Dante Serino (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) but the crowded infield was no match for the Lynx. Ferragine avoided the five infielders by going high, over the defensive formation to plate Taliercio with the game-winner.
The Nighthawks jumped on the scoreboard first with a little bit of small-ball. First year shortstop Justin Banks (Corona, Calif.) opened the game with a base-hit before advancing to second on an error then again to third on a wild pitch. Senior centerfielder Ian Hruniak (Lutz, Fla.) drove home Banks ripping a double to give Newbury the 1-0 lead.
It appeared as if it may have been enough for Forrest who started the game strong – retiring five of the first six batters he faced, three by way of the strikeout. But the south shore native ran into trouble against the bottom of the Lynx order in the third.
Taliercio opened the frame with a base-hit then advanced to third on a double by Cervantes. After Ferragine loaded the bases with no outs, senior third baseman Mike Slaby (Foxborough, Mass.) worked a walk to bring in Taliercio and tie the game. First year leftfielder Will Rhone (North Haven, Conn.) grounded into a double-play for the first two outs but in the back door came Cervantes with the second run and take the 2-1 lead.
Muratore settled down and retired the six Nighthawk batters he faced. But he ran into trouble in the top of the top of the sixth as Newbury took advantage of a Lesley miscue to tie the game. Nighthawk junior rightfielder Matthew Sobray (Santa Clarita, Calif.) singled to bring home Banks. It's where the game stood until the bottom of the seventh.
Forrest took home loss tossing a complete-game, six innings allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out eight opposing batters as he falls to 4-1 on the season.
Game 2: Newbury 14, Lesley 11
In game two of the twin-bill, sophomore first baseman Ryan Pumphret (Shrewsbury, Mass.) wasted little time and put the Lynx on the board first. The Central Massachusetts native launched his second homerun of the season in the bottom of the first to give Lesley the 1-0 advantage.
However, the lead did not last for very long. Sobray answered as he opened the top half driving a homerun over the rightfield fence to tie the game at one but the Nighthawks were not done. Newbury batted around to put up a crooked number eight to take the 8-1 lead and knock junior starter Nick Iadevaio (Mineola, N.Y.) out of the ballgame.
The Nighthawks added to their lead scoring again in the top of the fourth to increase their lead to 9-1 but the Lynx were not going to be denied. Lesley continued to chip away at the deficit. In the bottom of the fifth Slaby drove in junior centerfielder J.P. Agiogousis (Hanscom AFB, Mass.) to cut the deficit to seven runs, 9-2.
Two innings later in the bottom of the sixth the Lynx offense came alive against Nighthawk senior right-hander Ethan Mick (Medway, Mass.) who came on to relieve starter Jacob Pringle (Acushnet, Mass.). Against the Nighthawks' fresh arm, Pumphret singled before scampering into scoring position on a wild pitch. Two batters later junior Justin Clark (Chino Hills, Calif.) ripped a double to plate Pumphret with the third Lynx run.
But the damage was far from done. Junior Ellis Intriago (Ridgewood, N.Y.) pinch-ran for Clark at second and scored the fourth run on a double by Cervantes. The Lynx backstop advanced to third on a passed ball before scoring on a wild pitch. After Ferragine singled to bring the line-up back around to the top, Slaby kept the inning alive reaching on an error by the centerfield to score Ferragine. Slaby came in to score himself the final run of the inning on a base-hit by Rhone to pull the Lynx to within one.
But the Nighthawks answered in the top of the seventh scoring seven runs to increase their lead to 14-8. In the home half of the seventh, the Lynx clawed back scoring three times but they were unable to push across anymore before falling 14-11 in game two.
Pringle earned the victory improving to 3-2 on the season, tossing five innings allowing two runs on four hits while striking out one and walking two. Iadevaio took the loss, dropping him to 1-1 on the season.
The Lynx and Nighthawks will be back in action tomorrow afternoon, March 26th, for the rubber game of the series . First pitch is slated for 3:30 p.m.