MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME BASEBALL

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Commodore Hendy Field, Buzzards Bay, Mass.

GAME #1 FINAL:          MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 14, DEAN 6

GAME #2 FINAL:          DEAN 8, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 4

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. --  Junior Connor Kennedy (West Barnstable, Mass.) and sophomore Paul Sances (Middleboro, Mass.) each rapped out a pair of hits and drove in two runs as Massachusetts Maritime scored eight runs in its final two at-bats to notch a 14-6 opening game victory over Dean and gain a split of a non-league college baseball doubleheader Sunday afternoon at Commodore Hendy Field.  In the nightcap, freshman Kyle Priest’s (Groton, Mass.) seventh inning grand slam proved to be the difference in the Bulldogs’ 8-4 triumph.

The host Buccaneers (5-3) overcame an early 1-0 deficit to take a 2-1 first inning lead in the opener on senior Jake Petruzzelli’s (Abington, Mass.) two-run single, and Massachusetts Maritime extended that margin to 4-1 in the third on an error and a run-scoring single off the bat of senior Aidan Desrosiers (North Attleboro, Mass.).  The hosts tacked on two more tallies in the fourth on a wild pitch that followed a sacrifice fly by freshman Jackson Simone (Seattle, Wash.), but the visiting Bulldogs (3-9) evened matters in the top of the fifth with a two-out, five-run rally highlighted by a two-run double by sophomore Timothy Lombardi (Providence, R.I.) and a three-run triple off the bat of sophomore Daniel Blazejewski (Stewartsville, N.J.), who scored the tying run on an error.  The Buccaneers took the lead for good in the bottom half of the frame on a pair of errors and a two-run double by Sances, and Massachusetts Maritime iced its opening game triumph with four more runs in the sixth on an error, a two-run double by Kennedy and an RBI single by junior Logan Sullo (Acushnet, Mass.) that closed out the scoring.

Sullo collected three of the hosts’ 11 hits in the lid-lifter, as senior Daniel Avery (Milford, Mass.) allowed seven hits and struck out six over six innings of work to even his record at 1-1 on the mound for the Buccaneers.  Lombardi rapped out two of Dean’s seven hits in the opening setback game, as sophomore Victor Paiva Jr. (Seekonk, Mass.) allowed nine earned runs and walked nine over five innings of action to fall to 1-2 on the spring for the visitors.

Sullo’s RBI groundout in the bottom of the first of the nightcap staked Massachusetts Maritime to the early lead, but Dean took the lead for good in the second on a two-run double by sophomore Christopher Wood (Berkley, Mass.) and extended that margin to 4-1 in the fifth on a run-scoring groundout from sophomore John Cerretani (Salem, N.H.) and a sacrifice fly off the bat of freshman Mitch Leblanc (Woburn, Mass.).  The Buccaneers sliced their deficit to one in the bottom of the fifth on Petruzzelli’s two-run single, but Priest provided the heroics in the top of the seventh by blasting a 2-1 pitch down the left field line for his first collegiate homer and a crucial insurance grand slam to give the Bulldogs an 8-3 advantage.  Sances plated Massachusetts Maritime’s final run of the nightcap in the bottom of the frame, as he followed Kennedy’s double with an RBI two-bagger of his own to close out the scoring.

Priest and sophomore Retsyn Ootton (Barrington, R.I.) each had two of Dean’s eight hits in the second contest, as freshman Christian Ponce (Lowell, Mass.) earned his first career win on the mound in allowing one earned run and fanning three in going the distance to improve to 1-1 on the season for the Bulldogs.  Sances went 4-for-4 (including a pair of doubles) in the nightcap setback for the hosts, who also received a pair of hits from Petruzzelli.  Sophomore Brian Kwedor (Marshfield, Mass.) allowed two earned runs and struck out three over five innings of work to fall to 2-1 on the spring for the Buccaneers.

Massachusetts Maritime hosts Becker in a non-league outing on Tuesday afternoon at Commodore Hendy Field that begins at 4:00 p.m., while Dean entertains Springfield in a non-league contest on Thursday afternoon in Franklin, Mass. beginning at 3:30 p.m.

(Photo Credit:  Justin Reidy)