MEDFORD, Mass. – The Lynx played to a split in a doubleheader with New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) foe Newbury College this afternoon at Huskins Field on the campus of Tufts University. Lesley took game one behind a solid outing from starter Ryan Genua (Prospect, Conn.) while the Nighthawks got the same in game two as Daniel Lumb (Stoneham, Mass.) went the distance to even up the double dip.
The Lynx got six innings from Genua in game one, giving up five runs (two earned), scattering seven hits and striking out one before junior Kevin Hopwood (Winter Haven, Fla.) came in to close the door, earning his second save of the year.
Trailing 3-2 in the top of the sixth, the Nighthawks took advantage of some sloppy Lesley defense and hung up three to take a 5-3 lead. Sophomore Cameron D'Agostino (Salisbury, Mass.) started the attack with a single to right and would come around to score when Mack Flynn's (Windham, N.H.) drive was mishandled in the outfield, allowing him to advance to third. Flynn would then cross the plate when a wild pitch made it to the backstop. Freshman Craig Barnett (Melbourne, Australia) kept it going when he reached on a Ryan McQuade (Rochester, N.H.) error and later came around on the Lynx' third error of the inning, taking advantage of a David Hersey (Wolfeboro, N.H.) blunder. Genua finally escaped the jam by getting two pop flies to end the inning.
The Lynx bats answered right back in the bottom half of the frame with some two-out magic. After D'Agostino retired the first two batters of the inning, Lesley sophomore Adam Ciampi (Westford, Mass.) sparked the offense with his third hit of the ballgame, a single to right field. Junior Tyler Plourd (Canton, Conn.) then reached on an error, allowing Ciampi to skip to third. Hopwood then drove Ciampi across the plate with a single to left, cutting the deficit to just one, 5-4.
After a pitching change for the Nighthawks, senior Chris Ninteau (Lisbon, Conn.) hit the first two batters he faced, forcing the tying run to cross the plate. Freshman Casey Blanchard (Bernardston, Mass.) then followed with a single to left, knocking in two runs, while Hersey drove a single through the box allowing John Gosnell (Toronto, Canada) to come around, giving the Lynx an 8-5 lead.
That's how it would stay as Hopwood shut down the Newbury bats in the top of the seventh. Hopwood struck out four in his one inning of work, as he left runners stranded at the corners following a walk and a dropped third-strike.
Game two was a similar story to game one. Lesley held a 2-1 advantage heading into the top of the sixth before some faulty defense caused them to stumble.
Newbury sophomore Steven Broy (Gorham, Me.) led off the inning, reaching on a Blanchard error at third base and moved to second on a bunt-single by junior Michael Dwyer (Hampden, Conn.). Flynn then reached on an error by Lynx catcher Joe Muratore (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) that allowed Broy to score. The Nighthawks then got two sac-flies from D'Agostino and Tommy Robertson (Lutz, Fla.), giving them a 4-2 lead.
This time, the Lynx couldn't counter and Lumb finished the game in impressive fashion by striking out the side in the bottom of the seventh.
The Lynx got a strong effort from Gosnell who went the distance, giving up four runs (two earned) and seven hits in his second complete game of the season.
Dwyer finished with three hits on the afternoon for the Nighthawks while Michael Perillo (Mansfield, Mass.) had two hits and scored two runs. Robertson also had two hits to go with his two RBI.
Leading the offense for the Lynx was Ciampi who had four hits and two runs scored on the day. Plourd finished with two doubles and three RBI's while Hersey had two hits and an RBI.
The Lynx (5-6, 2-2 NECC) return to the diamond on Thursday when they travel to Emerson College for a non-conference game at 8:00p. Newbury will play Lasell College on Friday on the Brandeis University (Waltham, Mass.) campus at 7:00p.