Baseball Sweeps Past Gordon

WENHAM, Mass. – Graduate student Dillon Koster had four hits and freshman Christian Peruzzi (Plymouth, Mass.) had three hits and drove in three runs as the Wentworth Institute of Technology baseball team (2-5, 2-2 Commonwealth Coast Conference) swept Gordon (2-4, 2-2) on Friday afternoon. The Leopards took the first game, 3-1, and won in the nightcap, 11-3.

GAME ONE:  Wentworth 3, Gordon 1

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Wentworth Batting Leaders:  Dillon Koster (2-for-4), Christian Peruzzi (1-for-3, 1 RBI), Kyle Desjardins (1-for-2, 1 RBI)
Wentworth Pitching Leaders:  Jacob Knowles ((W, 1-0), 3.1 IP, 1 H, 3K); Matt Perconti (3.1 IP, 1 R, 6 H, 2 K); Brandon Sullivan ((Sv, 1), 0.1 IP, 1 K)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Senior Aidan French (Chicago, Ill.) led off the game by reaching on an error and went to second on a sacrifice bunt from Peruzzi. With two outs in the inning, junior Kyle Desjardins (North Granby, Conn.) delivered a single to score French. An inning later, Wentworth threatened by loading the bases with two outs, however, a fly out ended the inning.
• The Leopards made it 2-0 in the third inning, scoring with two outs. Koster led off with a single and went to second when Desjardins walked, After a fly out and a strikeout, junior Justin Kirst reached on a two-base error which scored Koster. Gordon threatened in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases after two quick outs, however, junior Matt Perconti (Hancock, Maine) got a strikeout to end the threat.
• The Fighting Scots got on the board in the fourth inning on a one-out RBI single from junior Hunter Routhier (Nashua, N.H.). After a one-out walk and single, junior Jacob Knowles (Concord, N.H.) came on in relief and got an inning-ending strikeout.
• Wentworth increased its lead to 3-1 in the top of the sixth inning. Junior Nolan Freeman (Braintree, Mass.) hit a one-out single and went to second on a passed ball. Peruzzi brought him into score with a two-out single.
• Sophomore Andrew Hartman (Bethel, Conn.) led off the bottom of the seventh with a single and went to second on a junior Jalen Coyne-Martinez (Pittsfield, Mass.) sacrifice. A fly out kept the tying run at the plate, however, graduate student Connor Hartman (Bethel, Conn.) walked, putting the potential winning run at the plate. Sophomore Brandon Sullivan (Quincy, Mass.) came in and got a four-pitch strikeout to end the game.
• Knowles picked up the win (1-0), going 3.1 innings and allowing just one hit while striking out three. Perconti went the first 3.1 innings, allowing one run on six hits and striking out a pair. Offensively, Koster had two hits while Peruzzi and Desjardins each drove in a run.

GAME TWO:  Wentworth 3, Gordon 1

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Wentworth Batting Leaders:  Aidan French (2-for-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI), Christian Peruzzi (2-for-6, 1 2B 2 RBI), Michael Petit (2-for-4), Kyle Desjardins (2 R, 3 BB)
Wentworth Pitching Leaders:  Hunter Thornton ((W, 1-1), 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 5 K); Brodi Farinas (1.2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 3K), Jeff Rodden (1 IP, 0 R, 0 H), Christian Alcantara (1 IP, 0 R, 0 H)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Gordon jumped on the board in the second inning, scoring a pair of unearned runs. Junior Cole Winkelman (Gilford, N.H.) had an RBI groundout and Jalen Coyne-Martinez had an RBI single.
• Wentworth had the bases loaded in the fourth inning as Peruzzi led off reaching on an error, which was followed by back-to-back walks to Koster and Desjardins. A fielder's choice resulted in Peruzzi being out at home and a double play ended the inning.
• An inning later the Leopards scored six times, which included a two-run double off the bat of Peruzzi. Junior Nolan McManus was hit by a pitch with one out and went to third when Freeman singled and he scored on a double from French. Peruzzi followed with a double of his own to score Freeman and French and he scored on Koster's double. Back-to-back walks to Desjardins and junior Kyle O'Neill (Haverhill, Mass.) loaded the bases and freshman Michael Petit (Sandwich, Mass.) scored Koster with a sacrifice fly. Senior Kyle Litwin (Jacksonville, Fla.) drew a pinch-hit walk to re-load the bases and McManus followed with a walk to score Desjardins.
• French led off the sixth with a walk and went to third on a single by Peruzzi, who then stole second on a strikeout. With two outs O'Neill was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Petit followed by reaching on a hit by pitch, which scored French. The Fighting Scots got a run back in the bottom of the inning as junior Patrick Tevenan (South Weymouth, Mass.) drove in a run with a ground out.
• McManus led off the seventh with a single, went to second on a sacrifice bunt from Freeman, and scored on French's second double of the contest. The Black & Gold tacked on three more runs in the eighth as Desjardins led off the inning with a walk, went to second when O'Neill reached on an error, and scored after Petit grounded out. Litwin followed with a single to score O'Neill and eventually came around to score on Gordon's second error of the inning.
• Junior Hunter Thornton (Old Lyme, Conn.) picked up the win (1-1), allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits and striking out five in 5.1 innings of work. Freshmen Brodi Farinas (Lewiston, Maine) and Jeff Rodden (Plymouth, Mass.) and sophomore Christian Alcantara (Weymouth, Mass.) combined to go 3.2 innings, not allowing a run or a hit. Offensively, French and Peruzzi each had two hits and two RBI, Koster had two hits and an RBI, and Desjardins walked twice and scored three runs.

ALL-TIME SERIES:

• Today marked the 54th and 55th all-time meetings between the two programs. Winners of three in a row in the series, Wentworth leads, 32-23.

NEXT UP:

• The two teams finish their CCC weekend series with a doubleheader in Weymouth, Mass., on Saturday at Noon.

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