Salem State Edges Baseball in Extras

SALEM, Mass. – In a back-and-forth contest, the Wentworth Institute of Technology baseball team (10-4) came up short to the Salem State Vikings (6-3), falling by an 8-7 score on a walk-off single with the bases loaded in the tenth frame.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wentworth broke the ice early in the opening inning as a double by sophomore Matthew Favazzo (Lexington, Mass.) with two runners on, one being freshman Christian Roncal (Glendale, Ariz.) who reached on a single, drove home both, marking a 2-0 advantage.
• Favazzo later stole home following a single by senior Michael Petit (Sandwich, Mass.), extending the lead to 3-0. A single by junior Jake Prisco (Bridgewater, Mass.) drove Petit home, stretching the lead to 4-0 still in the opening frame.
• The Vikings sliced their deficit in half in the back half of the inning as a single by freshman Yabdriel Gonzalez (New Haven, Conn.) drove home a run before a groundout later in the order drove home Gonzalez to score, making a 4-2 score.
• In response, Wentworth pushed their lead to 5-2 in the second inning as a sacrifice fly drove home a run by sophomore Nick Cullinan (Sandy Hook, Conn.). The two teams juked it out in the middle frames before Salem State cut the deficit to 5-3 in the fifth inning as a single by graduate student Mark Smith (East Haven, Conn.) brought home a run.
• The Leopards regained their three-run advantage in the sixth as another single by Petit with Favazzo on third brought home the base runner, marking a 6-3 score.
• Salem State chipped away at Wentworth's lead over the next two innings, with a single by senior James Dolan (Rockland, Mass.) and a double by senior Edward Field (Gloucester, Mass.) helping tie the score at six-all before an error later in the seventh inning drove home a score by Field, marking a 7-6 edge.
• Wentworth knotted the score at seven aside in the eighth inning as a double by Favazzo drove home a run. Petit reached third on two wild pitches, but couldn't make his way home on the next at-bat.
• The Leopards couldn't make a dent in the score in the extra inning before a single by Field in the bottom of the tenth with the bases loaded made the difference, giving the Vikings an 8-7 victory.
• Favazzo (3-5, 3 RBI, 3 doubles) and Roncal (4-5) paced the offense at the plate while junior Brady Aubuchon (Westminster, Mass.) struck out three batters in five innings of work. In relief, sophomore Connor Whitehead (Southington, Conn.) struck out four in 3.1 innings.

NEXT UP:

• The Black & Gold travel to Waltham to face Brandeis tomorrow.
  

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