Baseball Earns Split Against Gwynedd Mercy

AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Junior Tim Elrick (Buzzards Bay, Mass.) went 3-for-3 with a triple and senior Christian Ferri (Bloomfield, N.J.) was 3-for-4 with a double as the Wentworth Institute of Technology baseball team took an 11-4 decision over Gwynedd Mercy in the nightcap of a non-conference contest at Lake Myrtle Sports Park. In the opener the Griffins won, 6-1.

Game One:  Gwynedd Mercy 6, Wentworth 1
Wentworth had a chance to take an early lead in the top of the third inning when sophomore Bryon Kucharski (East Haven, Conn.) led off with a walk and, after a pair of strikeouts, senior Jordan Burst (Jackson, N.J.) singled to move Kucharski into scoring position. However, a flyout ended the inning.

In the home half of the inning, Gwynedd took a 5-0 lead on RBI singles from sophomores Brandon Gray (Deptford, N.J.), Justin Curtain (Washington Township, N.J.), and Dave Tatoian (Perkasie, Pa.), a fielder's choice by sophomore Ryan Keen (Berlin, N.J.), and a sacrifice fly from sophomore Tommy Nardini (Philadelphia, Pa.). The Griffins tacked on a run in the bottom of the fourth on a leadoff home run from freshman Jacee Orta (Lebanon, Pa.) to make it 6-0.

The Leopards scored their lone run in the sixth inning. Junior Tyler Weninger (Chandler, Ariz.) drew a leadoff walk and went to second when senior Jimmy Temte (Northborough, Mass.) singled. Temte was erased when sophomore Jake Smith (Orange, Conn.) hit into a fielder's choice which also moved Weninger to third and he scored on an RBI groundout from sophomore Ross Golebiewski (Lyme, Conn.).

Sophomore Gino Tripodi (Philadelphia, Pa.) picked up the win (1-0) as he allowed no runs on two hits, walked two, and struck out six. Four different players had hits for the Griffins.

Ferri, Burst, and Temte each had hits for the Leopards. Sophomore Leo Coehlo (Marlborough, Mass.) was tagged with the loss (1-1) as he allowed six runs on four hits, walked three, and struck out four. Freshman Caleb Eaton (East Hampstead, N.H.) allowed a walk and struck out a batter in 2.1 innings of scoreless relief work.

Game Two:  Wentworth 11, Gwynedd Mercy 4
Wentworth took a 4-0 lead in the home half of the first, thanks to four straight hits and a pair of ground outs. Ferri led off with a single through right side and went to second when Burst singled through the left side. Weninger followed with a single through right side to score Ferri and Temte scored Burst with a double. Jae Smith grounded out to score Weninger and Golebiewski grounded out to score Temte.

The second inning saw Elrick lead off with a single, go to second on a passed ball, and advance to third on a sophomore Matt Smith (Horseheads, N.Y.) sacrifice bunt. Ferri doubled in Elrick and would score on what would have been a Burst triple, however it was ruled he missed first base.

Gwynedd cut the lead to 6-1 in the top of the third. Sophomore Nick Mulvey (Bensalem, Pa.) led off with a double and went to third on a single from sophomore Evan Miller (Levittown, Pa.). Mulvey scored after a fielder's choice which resulted in an error.

In the top of the fourth inning the Griffins had runners on first and second with two outs, however Ferri ended the threat with a diving catch coming in. A one-out triple from Elrick set up a two-out single by Ferri to increase the lead to 7-1 after four and Weninger led off the fifth with a home run to push the lead to 8-1.

In the bottom of the sixth, freshman Dan Mitchell (Avon, Mass.) hit a pinch-hit home run – his first collegiate home run – on the first pitch he saw to make it 11-1. Also scoring on the play were freshman Ethan Hebard (North Attleboro, Mass.) who had walked and Elrick who collected his third hit of the game.

The top of the seventh inning saw the Griffins score three times to make it 11-4. Junior Justin Fortkus (Yardley, Pa.) had a sacrifice fly, reached on a fielder's choice, and Tatoian had an RBI single.

Sophomore Mike Callagee (Emerson, N.J) picked up the win (1-0) as he allowed one unearned run on four hits, walked two, and struck out two. Freshman Ryan Joyce (Avon, Mass.) allowed three runs in two-thirds of an inning and Ferri was summoned to get the lone batter he faced to end the game.

In addition to Elrick and Ferri recording three hits each, Weninger was 2-for-4 with two RBI and Mitchell drove in three runs.

Wentworth faces SUNY Poly on Friday in Winter Haven, Fla.

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