Baseball Rallies, Holds on to Defeat Nichols

WEYMOUTH, Mass. – Senior Kyle O'Neill (Haverhill, Mass.) hit a two-run, bases-loaded single with one out in the seventh inning to put the Wentworth Institute of Technology baseball team ahead of Nichols, 5-4, and the Leopards held on for a 7-6 win in Commonwealth Coast Conference action Tuesday afternoon.

With the win the Leopards halt an eight-game losing streak, improving to 13-16 overall and 3-11 in CCC play while the Bison fall to 17-17-1 (7-8-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Nichols got on the board in the first inning when, with one out and runners on the corners, sophomore Brennan Hyde (Miramar, Fla.) hit a sacrifice fly which scored senior DJ Caron (Branford, Conn.), who had led off the game with a single. Sophomore Jonny Knox (Jefferson, N.J.) attempted to tag up from first on the play but was thrown out by senior Nolan McManus (Milton, Mass.) for an inning-ending double play.
• Wentworth tied the game in the bottom of the second, thanks to an RBI double from senior Justin Kirst (Boston, N.Y.), which scored graduate student Aidan Franch (Chicago, Ill.), who had hit a one-out single. An inning later, the Leopards plated a pair to take a 3-1 lead. Sophomore Christian Peruzzi (Plymouth, Mass.) hot a one-out single and stole second with two outs. Classmate Michael Petit (Sandwich, Mass.) followed by reaching on an error, which moved Peruzzi to third. Senior Nolan Freeman (Braintree, Mass.) cleared the bases with a two-run triple.
• The Bison pulled within one in the top of the fourth as Knox led off with a single, stole second, and moved to third on an error. Hyde followed with a groundout to score Knox.
• The game remained 3-2 in Wentworth's favor until the top of the seventh when Nichols took a 4-3 lead. Junior Brad Ellis (Morris, Conn.) led off with a single and stole second and, with two outs, senior Victor Valentin (Sandisfield, Mass.) hit a home run.
• McManus hit a one-out single in the bottom of the frame, went to second when senior Kyle Desjardins (North Granby, Conn.) was hit by a pitch and moved to third when Peruzzi was hit by a pitch to load the bases. O'Neill followed with his two-run single, giving the Leopards a 5-4 lead. The Leopards added two in the eighth inning to take a 7-4 lead when senior Matt Masciadrelli (Westfield, Mass.) drew a two-out walk, went to third on a McManus single, and scored on a wild pitch, which moved McManus to second and he would come 90 feet closer on another wild pitch. On a stolen base attempt, Desjardins got caught in a rundown long enough for McManus to score.
• Nichols pulled within one in the top of the ninth, thanks to a home run from junior Will Kleinhenz (Madison, Conn.). Sophomore Ben Jerome (Waterford, Conn.) led off with a double and came around to score on the home run. Freshman Matt Ferrara (East Taunton, Mass.) got the next three batters out to lock up the win.
• Sophomore Brodi Farinas (Lewiston, Maine) picked up the win (4-4), allowing four runs (three earned) on 10 hits, and struck out five in seven innings. Ferrars notched his first career save, allowing two runs on three hits and posting one strikeout in two innings. At the plate, O'Neill was 2-for-4 with two RBI while French and McManus each had two hits. Desjardins reached base four times by way of three walks and a hit by pitch.

ALL-TIME SERIES:

• Today was the 52nd all-time meeting between the two teams. Nichols leads, 27-25.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth wraps up the regular season with a doubleheader at Suffolk on Saturday.

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