Wentworth Sweeps Nichols in TCCC Doubleheader

(Courtesy of Nichols Sports Information)

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology baseball team swept Nichols College, 9-7 and 5-3, in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference doubleheader at Gaskill Field Friday afternoon. The Leopards improve to 12-6 overall and 5-3 in conference action, while Nichols dips to 7-9 overall and evens out at 3-3 in league play.

Junior outfielder Zac Johnson (Wakefield, R.I.) paced the Bison with a 6-for 8 outing with a pair of two-run doubles, three stolen bases and two runs scored. Junior outfielder George Sergi (Blackstone, Mass.) sent four runs across with three hits including a double and a triple.

Sophomore shortstop Conner Flisnik (Marcy, N.Y.) led the Leopards on the day, going 6-for-9 with a pair of runs scored and three RBI. Junior first baseman Ben Danker (Branford, Conn.) and senior catcher Pete Oggeri (Sandy Hook, Conn.) were big run producers with three RBI apiece, while junior outfielder Matt Jordan's (Concord, N.H.) two-run double in the second game pushed across the winning runs.

In the opener, Wentworth took a 4-0 lead in the third inning on four hits, including two-run singles from Flisnik and Danker. The Bison responded in the bottom half of the frame with three runs, all scoring on a two-out, bases-loaded triple from Sergi.

Nichols took the lead in the fourth, again with two outs, this time on a two-run double from Johnson, to lead 5-4.

It was the Leopards' turn to hit big in the fifth as Oggeri tagged a three-run triple to put Wentworth back in the lead, and Mike Diodato (Asbury, N.J.) pushed him across with a single later in the inning for a 8-5 Leopards' lead in the middle of the fifth.

After Danker plated another run in the sixth for the Leopards, Al Montalto (Wilmington, Mass.) led off the bottom half of the inning with a double and came around to score courtesy of a single by Christopher Nemeskal (Swampscott, Mass.), making it 9-6, Leopards.

Nichols got two outs at the plate to keep Wentworth off the board in the seventh, stranding three on the bases before Nichols made a comeback bid in the bottom of the inning. Johnson led off with a single and scored on a Sergi double with two outs, but Wentworth closer Scott Borges (Westport, Mass.) induced a groundout to end the threat with two runners on.

Borges earned the save, his program-record sixth, with one run on two hits and one strikeout. Matt Dannenhoffer (Bethany, Conn.) improved to 4-0, allowing six runs on seven hits while fanning three. Nichols senior Tim Smith (Plainfield, Conn.) took the loss with six innings of work, fanning seven while allowing nine runs (eight earned) on 11 hits.

The teams combined for 24 stranded runners and 22 hits in the second game, but neither team found the scoreboard until the third inning. Wentworth put up one run on an RBI single from Jake McManus (Hopkinton, N.H.), but Nichols responded with the equalizer in the bottom of the frame. John Micciche (Holbrook, Mass.) led off with a single, and came all the way around to score on a Josh Clark (Brunswick, Maine) single and outfielder misplay.

Danker led off the fifth with a double, and after a walk and a McManus bunt loaded the bases, gave the Leopards the lead back on an RBI single from Ryan Delgado (Wareham, Mass.). Nichols pitcher Austin Martin (Cranston, R.I.) fanned the next three batters to strand three on the bases.

Nichols took the lead for the first time in the game in the bottom of the sixth on a Johnson two-run double, but the Leopards got three more aboard in the top of the seventh.

McManus walked to lead off the inning, was bunted over by Delgado and moved to third on a single by Anthony Carbone (Goshen, Conn.). Carbone stole second and with both in scoring position, Jordan hit a two-out double to send the pair across. Flisnik followed with an RBI single before Nichols reliever Scott Leecock (Palmer, Mass.) came in to get the final out.

Martin took the loss for the Bison with five runs on 11 hits; he struck out nine. Mo Gardner (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) picked up the win for the Leopards with three runs on eight hits, while Matt Vezina (Uxbridge, Mass.) earned the save in one inning of work, fanning two while allowing two hits.

Nichols is back in action on Saturday in a noon TCCC doubleheader against Colby-Sawyer at Assumption. Wentworth hosts Eastern Nazarene for a TCCC twinbill Saturday at 2 p.m.