Wentworth Concludes Regular Season With Split Against New England College

EASTON, Mass. – Senior Mo Gardner (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) improved to 6-1 on the year as he allowed three runs on five hits and struck out seven in a complete-game win as the Wentworth baseball team salvaged a split with New England College with a 6-3 win in the second game of a The Commonwealth Coast Conference doubleheader played at Stonehill College.  The visiting Pilgrims upset the Leopards, 7-5, in game one.

New England College scored single runs in the second and third innings of the opener to tame 2-0 lead. In the second inning, junior Chris Gagne (Rochester, N.H.) led off with a triple to center and came home a batter later on an RBI groundout by sophomore Lucas Burgess (Bath, N.H.).  The Pilgrims would leave runners at first and second to end the inning.  An inning later, the Pilgrims would score an unearned run when Gagne, who reached on an error, stole second and on the errant throw to second, junior PJ Crowley (Pawcatuck, Conn.) scored.

Wentworth took a 3-2 lead in the  bottom of the fourth inning when juniors Mike Diodato (Asbury, N.J.) and Jake McManus (Hopkinton, N.H.) singled and walked, respectively, and each moved up 90 feet on a junior Ben Danker (Branford, Conn.) sacrifice bunt.  The bases were loaded a batter later when freshman Ryan Delgado (Wareham, Mass.), and an RBI single from senior Anthony Carbone (Goshen, Conn.) put the Leopards on the board.  Freshman Alex Wong (Lewiston, Maine) hit into a fielder's choice, which allowed McManus to come home with the tying run and Delgado to go to third and, when Wong stole second, an errant throw allowed Delgado to make it a 3-2 game.

The Pilgrims took the lead for good an inning later, scoring four times to make it 6-3, with the key hit coming on a two-run double by senior Scott Miller (Mt. Airy, Md.).  Two of the four NEC runs scored that inning would be unearned, coming after Wentworth's third miscue of the game.  Wentworth scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning on a two-run single up the middle from Danker, but the Pilgrims tacked on another unearned run in the sixth to make it a 7-5 game.

Sophomore Taylor Vesey (Goffstown, N.H.) improved to 3-5 as he allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits, walking five and striking out two.  Miller led NEC offensively as he was 2-for-4 with two RBI.  Crowley and Gagne each scored two runs.

Senior Chris Carbone (Goshen, Conn.) fell to 2-4 as he allowed seven runs (two earned) on five hits, walked four, and struck out four in six innings.  Senior Scott Borges (Westport, Mass.) struck out one batter in the seventh inning.  McManus was 2-for-3 with two runs scored, while Danker drove in two.

An RBI single by Diodato in the bottom of the first would score junior Matt Jordan (Concord, N.H.), who led off with a bunt single and took second on an errant throw.  Wentworth would take a 2-0 lead in the third inning when Wong drew a leadoff walk, sophomore Conner Flisnik (Marcy, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch, and senior Pete Oggeri (Sandy Hook, Conn.) drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  Diodato hit into a fielder's choice, which forced Oggeri at second but allowed Wong to score.

New England College got on the board in the top of the fifth inning when Gagne led off with a double and went to third on a failed pickoff attempt.  He would come around to score two batters later when Miller laced a two-out double to center.  The Pilgrims had runners at first and second with one out, but Gardner struck out the next two batters to end the threat.  In the home half of the inning, Wentworth broke the game open with four runs.  Flisnik singled in Jordan, who led off with a triple, and with two outs would steal second.  McManus hit an RBI double to score Flisink and came around to score on an RBI single by Danker.  Danker eventually came around to score on an error.

Trailing 6-1 entering the top of the seventh, the Pilgrims cut the lead to 6-3 when Burgess hit a two-run home run to left, which scored Gagne who had led off with a single.

In addition to striking out 11 batters, Gardner didn't walk a batter and had a stretch where he set down eight batters in a row.  Jordan was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Danker also had a pair of hits.  Diodato drove in two runs in the game.

Senior Mike Caravella (Milford, N.H.) allowed six runs (four earned) on seven hits, walked two, and struck out four in six innings of work to fall to 0-1.  Freshman Nickolas Funk (Farmington, N.H.) pitched a perfect sixth inning.  Gagne was 3-for-3 with a pair of rund scored, while Burgess drove in two.

Wentworth closes out the regular season with a 24-12 record (15-7 TCCC).  The Leopards will be seeded fourth in TCCC Tournament and host fifth-seeded Salve Regina on Tuesday.  New England College (7-27, 3-19) closes out the 2010 campaign with a game against Emerson on Sunday.