Posted: Apr 15, 2013
HOLYOKE, Mass. – Elms College sophomore pinch-hitter Kevin Dwire (Ellington, Conn.) belted a game-winning walk-off single to left field in the bottom of the seventh inning of game two to lift the Blazers to a 9-1 victory and a 9-8 win over Lesley University in Monday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) baseball double-header at MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke, Mass.
With the wins, Elms improves to 12-13 overall, 5-3 in NECC action, while Lesley moves to 9-11 on the season, 3-5 in league play.
Elms 9, Lesley 1
In game one, Elms took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when freshman shortstop Nolan Medeiros (Taunton, Mass.) cracked a one-out double and then came home on a two-out single to right field by junior third baseman Sam Farnsworth (Westfield, Mass.) to push across the first run of the game.
The Blazers added to their lead in the bottom of the second when senior center fielder Stephen Fisher (West Boylston, Mass.) reached on a miscue, moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a single by sophomore first baseman Geoffrey Frost (Ludlow, Mass.) and then scored on a sacrifice fly to center by sophomore designated hitter Brady Forrest (Hampden, Mass.) to give Elms a 2-0 lead. Following a fly out to right field, freshman right fielder Dan McCormack (Shelton, Conn.) ripped a run-scoring triple off the wall in right field to score Frost to lift the advantage to 3-0. Lesley starting pitcher Casey Blanchard (Bernardston, Mass.) then forced Medeiros to hit a sharp line out to right field to end the frame.
In the top of the third Lesley threatened with runners on second and third with one out but Elms' junior starter Derek Leal (Charlton, Mass.) forced a pair of fly outs to center field to end the threat.
The Blazers pushed across their fourth tally in the bottom of the fourth inning when Frost was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Forrest, raced to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a sacrifice foul out to left field to make the score 4-0.
In the bottom of the fifth Medeiros singled and moved to second on a throwing error and then came full circle when the Lynx issued three consecutive walks to give the Blazers a 5-0 lead. The second run of the inning came when Fisher reached on a fielder's choice and junior left fielder Alex King (Lebanon, Conn.) scored on a throwing error to increase the advantage to 6-0. A bloop-single to right field plated its seventh run of the game off the bat of Forrest, but Lesley connected its second relay of the inning to get a runner at the plate and ended the inning without further damage.
In the bottom of the sixth, Elms added two more runs when junior catcher Zachary Dreher (Naugatuck, Conn.) belted a two-run double to left center with the bases loaded to extend the lead to 9-0.
Lesley scored its lone run of the contest in the top of the seventh inning when Robert Parson (Commack, N.Y.) cracked a double and then scored on a one-out double by Tyler Plourd (Canton, Conn.) to set the final score at 9-1.
McCormack and Medeiros were each 2 for 4, while Dreher finished with three runs batted in. King drew three walks in the game and Forrest finished with two runs driven in.
Plourd recorded the Lynx only RBI of the contest and Lesley scattered just six hits.
Leal earned the complete-game victory allowing just one run and struck out four batters to improve to 1-3 on the season. Blanchard suffered the loss giving up seven runs (six earned) on six hits and fanned one batter to move to 0-2 overall.
Elms 9, Lesley 8
In the second game, Lesley jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first when Parson connected for an RBI single, Aqib Shah (Watertown, Mass.) added a two-run base hit and the Lynx took advantage of a pair of Elms miscues. Elms' sophomore starter Sean Sinnott (Granby, Conn.) then forced a fly out to McCormack in right field who fired the ball to Medeiros covering the bag at second base to turn an inning-ending double play.
Lesley added a run in the top of the second when Plourd drove in a run on an RBI fielder's choice with the bases jammed to give the Lynx a 4-0 lead.
The Blazers pushed across the run in the bottom of the second when Forrest reached on a one-out error, moved to second on a single to center by freshman second baseman Aedin Wadja (Lebanon, Conn.) and scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of McCormack to set the score at 4-1.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Elms plated a pair of runs when Forrest laced a one-out double to center field and then scored on a two-out double through the right side by McCormack. A walk to Medeiros put two on before King drove a run-scoring single through the right side of the infield to cut the Lesley lead to 4-3. From there, Lynx starter Matt Gianoni (Berlin, Conn.) forced a fly out to right to end the stanza.
The Blazers tied the game in the bottom of the fifth when Fisher reached on infield error, stole second and then scored on a single down the left field line by Forrest. Forrest then stole second and scored when Wadja connected for a two-out two-bagger into left field to give Elms a 5-4.
Lesley responded in the top of the sixth when John Gosnell (Toronto, Canada) singled, David Hersey (Wolfeboro, N.H.) was hit by a pitch and Ryan McQuade (Rochester, N.H.) singled to load the bases with no outs. Elms' freshman reliever Andrew Sadowski (Northampton, Mass.), who entered in the third frame, forced the next two batters to get out, but an RBI groundout followed by a pair of Elms miscues allowed the Lynx to take an 8-5 lead, before senior reliever Ryan Burnette (Chicopee, Mass.) struck out the next hitter to halt the four-run rally.
Elms answered right back in the bottom of the frame when King walked and then scored on a one-out double to center field by Farnsworth to cut the lead to 8-6. Fisher then drilled a single through the right side to score RJ Lyrenmann (Glendale, Ariz.) who pinch-ran for Farnsworth to pull the Blazers to within one at 8-7.
In the bottom of the seventh, Forrest ripped a leadoff double to right center, Wadja drew a walk and McCormack reached on a bunt single. After reliever Kevin Hopwood (Winter Haven, Fla.) forced a fly out to give Lesley one out, a passed ball allowed Forrest to come home with the game-tying run. A groundout gave the Lynx two outs and kept the runners in check at second and third before Dwire connected for a game-winning pinch hit single to left field allowing Wadja to come home with the winning run.
Burnette pitched the final 1.1 innings and earned the win to improve to 1-0 on the hill, while Hopwood suffered the loss for Lesley and moves to 0-1 on the season.
Forrest had three hits in the contest highlighted by a pair of doubles while McCormack, King and Wadja each had two hits.
Parson and McQuade had two hits apiece for the Lynx in the losing effort.
Elms returns to non-conference action on Wednesday, April 17 when it hosts Springfield College at 7:30 p. m. at MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke, Mass. The Lynx will also play at MacKenzie field tomorrow as they will play Southern Vermont in a re-scheduled game from Saturday. First pitch is slated for 6:00p.