Two-Run Ninth Pushes Baseball Past Mass. Maritime

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. – Sophomore Joe Hulme's (Tewksbury, Mass.) RBI single with one out in the top of the ninth snapped a 6-6 tie and lifted Wentworth to an 8-6 non-league college baseball victory over Massachusetts Maritime Thursday afternoon at Commodore Hendy Field.
 
The visiting Leopards (11-9) opened the scoring in the first on a bases loaded walk to junior Dakota Baird (Bermuda Dunes, Calif.), who extended Wentworth's lead to 2-0 in the second with a sacrifice fly.  Sophomore Bobby Rosano's (North Reading, Mass.) sacrifice fly in the bottom of the frame sliced the host Buccaneers' (5-11) deficit in half, but the visitors got that run back in the fifth on an RBI double by sophomore Jake Mailman (Medway, Mass.).  Massachusetts Maritime again crept to within one in the fifth when Rosano reached on a fielder's choice, and after an error kept the inning alive, senior Tyler Genereux (Duxbury, Mass.) gave the Buccaneers a 4-3 edge with a two-run single up the middle.  Two more errors in the frame extended the hosts' lead to 6-3, but Wentworth evened matters with a three-run seventh inning rally on RBI singles by Mailman and senior Alex Wong (Lewiston, Maine) that sandwiched a wild pitch, setting the stage for Hulme's game-winning hit in the ninth that was followed by an insurance RBI safety off the bat of Mailman to account for the final score.
 
Mailman was a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate, including a double and a triple, while driving in three runs in the triumph for Wentworth, which also received a pair of hits from Wong as part of a 10-hit attack.  Sophomore Justin Voytek (New Milford, Conn.) picked up his second win in three decisions with four innings of scoreless relief that included three strikeouts for the Leopards, as senior Ryan Conrad (East Bridgewater, Mass.) allowed a pair of earned runs over the first five frames for the visitors.  Senior Zachary Sullivan (Barnstable, Mass.) and junior Bob Lee (Braintree, Mass.) each had two hits as part of an eight-hit attack in the setback for Massachusetts Maritime, as freshman Kyle Kennedy (Woodbury, Conn.) allowed an earned run and fanned four in two innings of relief work to fall to 1-2 on the season.  Junior Keith Sanchez (Monroe Township, N.J.) went the first four innings on the mound for the Buccaneers, allowing three hits and two runs while striking out six.
 
Massachusetts Maritime travels to Fitchburg, Mass. on Saturday afternoon to take on Fitchburg State in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader that begins at 1:00 p.m., while Wentworth travels to Springfield, Mass. on Saturday afternoon for a Commonwealth Coast Conference twinbill with Western New England beginning at Noon.

(Recap Courtesy of Mass. Maritime Sports Information)