MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME BASEBALL

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Scotts Miracle-Gro Complex, Providence, R.I.

GAME #1 FINAL:          JOHNSON & WALES 9, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 5

GAME #2 FINAL:          MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 9, JOHNSON & WALES 2

PROVIDENCE, R.I. --  Junior Aidan Desrosiers (North Attleboro, Mass.) rapped out a pair of hits and drove in three runs to lead Massachusetts Maritime to a 9-2 nightcap victory over Johnson & Wales and a split of a non-league college baseball doubleheader played Saturday afternoon at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Complex.  The host Wildcats received a five-RBI performance from senior Andrew Hunton (Monroe, N.Y.) in the opener to notch a 9-5 triumph.

Desrosiers staked the visiting Buccaneers (2-3) to a 1-0 second inning lead in the nightcap with an RBI single, but the host Wildcats (4-3) evened matters in the bottom of the frame on a bases-loaded walk to junior Lou Umberto (Cranston, R.I.) and grabbed a 2-1 edge in the third on junior Carlos Sanabria’s (Pawtucket, R.I.) run-scoring single.  Massachusetts Maritime took the lead for good with a three-run outburst in the fourth, as sophomore William Keane’s (Braintree, Mass.) RBI single was sandwiched between a run-scoring wild pitch and an error as part of the rally, and the visitors extended their advantage to 6-3 in the fifth on Desrosiers’ two-run triple to right.  The Buccaneers closed out the scoring with three more tallies in the top of the seventh, as junior Tommy Walls (Hawthorne, N.J.) drove in a run with an infield single and later scored on a wild pitch after freshman Riley Fusaro’s (Nantucket, Mass.) sacrifice fly gave Massachusetts Maritime its eighth run of the contest.

Sophomore Logan Sullo (Acushnet, Mass.) joined Desrosiers with two hits as part of a 10-hit attack in the second game triumph for the Buccaneers, as senior Kevin Kwedor (Marshfield, Mass.) picked up the win on the mound for the visitors by scattering six hits and fanning seven over the first four innings of work to even his record at 1-1 on the spring.  Fellow senior Kyle Kennedy (Woodbury, Conn.) earned his first save of the year by tossing three scoreless frames and striking out three, as the duo combined to throw 90 strikes in the contest.

Hunton rapped out three of Johnson & Wales’ nine hits in the nightcap setback, as the Wildcats committed six errors that led to a total of six unearned runs.  Senior Jordan Pilarski (Garnet Valley, Pa.) added two hits for the hosts, as junior Lane Compton (Freeland, Mich.) allowed seven hits and three earned runs in 4 1/3 innings of work to suffer the defeat on the mound.

Massachusetts Maritime jumped out to a 3-0 second inning lead in the opener on an RBI single by sophomore Connor Kennedy (West Barnstable, Mass.) that was followed by a two-run single off the bat of fellow sophomore Casey Furnas (Boca Raton, Fla.), but Johnson & Wales evened matter sin their half of the frame on Hunton’s two-run triple and a sacrifice fly off the bat of senior Ty Karalis (Seekonk, Mass.).  The Wildcats grabbed a 6-3 lead in the third on a bases loaded walk to sophomore Frank D’Amato (Lincoln, R.I.) and a two-run fielder’s choice from Hunton, and the hosts added a run in the fourth on Pilarski’s fielder’s choice to go with two more in the fifth on a Hunton RBI triple and an error to take a 9-3 cushion.  The Buccaneers got a run back in the sixth on Desrosiers’ run-scoring fielder’s choice before creeping back to within four in the seventh on junior Jake Petruzzelli’s (Abington, Mass.) RBI single, as the visitors loaded the bases in their final at-bat but did come closer.

Hunton and sophomore Rob Ballinger (South Kingston, R.I.) each collected two of Johnson & Wales’ eight opening game hits, as senior Jake Marchesseault (Wyoming, R.I.) scattered nine hits and struck out six in going the distance on the mound for the Wildcats to improve to 2-0 on the season.  Connor Kennedy and Walls each rapped out two hits in the setback for Massachusetts Maritime, as junior Daniel Avery (Milford, Mass.) allowed six hits and struck out four over the first four frames to fall to 1-1 overall.

Massachusetts Maritime hosts Fisher in a non-league outing on Tuesday afternoon at Commodore Hendy Field beginning at 3:00 p.m., while Johnson & Wales entertains Coast Guard in a non-league contest next Friday afternoon at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Complex that also begins at 3:00 p.m.