SOMERVILLE, MA – Lesley University scored two runs on consecutive sacrifice flies for an 8-7 11-inning win over visiting Norwich University in non-league baseball action Friday night at Trum Field.
With two outs in the 11th, Norwich's Devin Cilley (Turnbridge, VT/South Royalton) singled home JJ Losco (Wakefield, MA/Wakefield) to put the Cadets on top, but back-to-back sacrifice flies from John Gosnell (Toronto, ON/York) and Robert Parson (Commack, NY/Commack) brought the Lynx back for the first extra-inning victory in program history.
Lynx reliever Jeff Landry (Vestal, NY/Vestal) worked three innings of one-run ball, striking out three for the win.
The Lynx (5-16) jumped on the Cadets (3-20) early, as Ray Cohen (Coventry, CT/Coventry) reached on a first-inning infield single, advanced on a passed ball and scored on an Andrew Colon (Chelsea, MA/Chelsea) single to left. Colon advanced to second on a throw home that arrived late for Cohen and moved over to third on a ground ball off the bat of Tyler Plourd (Canton, CT/Canton) that was misplayed by Norwich shortstop Devin Robbins.
With second and third and only no outs, clean-up hitter Aqib Shah (Watertown, MA/Watertown) made his opposing shortstop's error count, bouncing a two-run single up the middle to score Plourd and Colon. Cadets starter Alexandro Cardoza (Cicero, IL/Cristo Rey Jesuit) rebounded impressively, shaking off the damage from three well-placed base hits and a pair of infield errors to strike out the Lynx Nos. 5, 6 and 7 hitters swinging in order.
After an efficient shutdown inning in the second, Lesley starter Ryan Genua (Prospect, CT/Woodland) ran into some trouble in the third, walking two to open the inning before giving up a single up the middle to load the bases with no outs and the top of the Cadets order ahead. His third walk of the inning, this to Joe Sleeman (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena), cost him a run, and with one out, Nicholas Gendron (Alstead, VT/Vermont Academy) spun a 60-foot single off the end of his bat into no man's land in front of Gosnell at third. A strikeout and comebacker got Genua out of further damage, stranding the bases loaded with the Lynx up 3-2 in the middle of the third.
Lesley added three more in the fourth, scoring three runs on only one hit. Gosnell and Hersey drew back-to-back walks, with the prior scoring on a Parson single and Hersey coming around on a fielder's choice. Parson scored on a wild pitch from reliever Brad Hudson, upping the lead to 6-2.
Norwich cut the margin in half with some clutch hitting in the sixth on a Stephen Beardsley two-run, two out bloop single to left that scored Gendron and Charles Schaub (East Hampton CT/East Hampton).
With the help of a ground ball double play, reliever Brandon Place kept the Lynx off the board in the bottom of the seventh before Norwich answered with two more in the eighth. An overthrow from Shah on a toss to second scored Jonathan Philbrook (Rochester, MA/Old Colony), and Schaub scored to tie the game on a Dustin Shimkus (Colinsville, IL/Metro East Lutheran) sac fly to center, leaving the team knotted at 6-6 in the eighth.
A Parson single to right and a pair of walks to lead off the Lynx half of the eighth loaded the bases, chasing Place from the game. With the bases loaded and one out, submariner Don DiBastiani (White Hall, MD/North Hartford) induced soft pop-ups on the infield from Shah and Plourd to get out of the jam.
The score held at 6-6, as the teams traded missed opportunities in extra innings until the drama unfolded in the 11th, with the Lynx coming out on top for a second win in as many days.
Cohen, Colon and Plourd all collected three hits and scored once atop the Lynx lineup.
For the Cadets, Phibrook and Schaub each scored twice, while Shimkus went 3-for-5 with a run scored.
Lesley returns to play on Thursday in non-conference play against its third straight GNAC opponent when the Lynx travel to Lasell College. Norwich travels to Plymouth State on Monday.
