Mailman, Hulme Reach Milestones in Baseball's Split With Gordon
Senior Jake Mailman became the program's all-time leader in runs batted in and classmate Joe Hulme recorded his 100th career hit as the Leopards drop the first game to the Fighting Scots, 6-1, and take the second, 5-2
WENHAM, Mass. – Seniors Jake Mailman (Medway, Mass.) and Joe Hulme (Tewksbury, Mass.) established career milestones and freshman Tyler Weninger (Chandler, Ariz.) picked up his first collegiate win while helping the Wentworth Institute of Technology baseball team split a Commonwealth Coast Conference doubleheader with Gordon on Monday afternoon at J Tec White Field. The Fighting Scots captured the first game 6-1, and the Leopards won the second contest 5-2
Wentworth, which played as the designated home team, now stands at 11-9 (4-4 CCC). Gordon is now (7-12, 5-3).
Game one was a scoreless affair for the first three innings until a one out, two RBI single by senior Mark Fitzgerald (Camarillo, Calif.) put the Fighting Scots on top. Following a line out to make it two outs, senior third baseman Jesse Amaya (South Gate, Calif.) knocked Fitzgerald home with a RBI double. In the next at-bat, sophomore Dean Demers (Sandy Hook, Conn.) hit a RBI single, scoring Amaya to give Gordon the 4-0 lead. Back-to-back doubles by Hulme and Mailman in the bottom of the fourth gave Wentworth its first and only run of the game. Mailman's RBI was the 96th of his career, breaking the program record of 95, set by Nick Cunningham '09.
Fitzgerald added more offense in the top of the sixth with a RBI triple to make it 5-1. Sophomore Travis Pullen (Latham, N.Y.) followed up with a single to third base to score Fitzgerald and give Gordon the 6-1 lead. A 1-2-3 seventh for junior Scott Hall (Weymouth, Mass.) sealed the win in game one.
Hall went the distance for Gordon, giving up one earned run off four hits while striking out one. Freshman pitcher Robby Sheldon (Dover, N.H.) was handed the loss, as he went seven innings with nine hits, six earned runs, and a walk. Junior shortstop Alex Smith (Wethersfield, Conn.) went 2-for-3 at the dish with a double and two runs for the Fighting Scots while four different players tallied a hit for the Leopards.
The Leopards jumped ahead early in the second game, as Hulme scored on a balk and sophomore Christian Ferri (Bloomfield, N.J.) moved to third. Mailman walked and was caught stealing at second. Hulme scored on the throw to put Wentworth up 2-0. The Fighting Scots notched things up in the top of the third when sophomore left fielder Jeremy Jackson (Waco, Texas) scored on a throwing error. Junior Eric Walker (Danvers, Mass.) then scored on a Pullen ground out to short.
In the bottom of the fifth, Wentworth scored its go ahead runs, first with Hulme hitting an RBI single up the middle to score a run. Sophomore Jordan Burst (Jackson, N.J.) hit a single up the middle, scoring two and giving Wentworth the 5-2 lead. Weninger (Chandler, Ariz.) retired the final five batters he faced to seal the win.
Hulme, who went 3-for-3 with two runs and a RBI, became the 19th player in program history to amass over 100 career hits and now stands at 102. Weninger scattered seven hits and allowed zero earned runs. Freshman Caleb Bae (Canyon Country, Calif.) was tagged with the loss, giving up two earned runs off four hits in four and two thirds innings.
Wentworth travels to Babson on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. for a non-conference game. Gordon hosts Trinity (Conn.) in a non-conference doubleheader Wednesday afternoon.