Baseball Claws Past Johnson & Wales
Leicester, Mass- Cody Carlson (Barre, VT) hit an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth, as Becker College defeated Johnson & Wales 19-18 in men's baseball action.
Johnson & Wales got the slugfest started in the top of the second when they scored five runs. Corey Ryan (Dracut, Mass) ripped a two out double down the right field line, putting the Wildcats on the board. After a walk loaded the bases, Waldis Garcia (Lowell, Mass) hit a grand slam to left field, putting Johnson & Wales ahead 5-0.
Becker responded in the bottom of the second with seven runs of their own. Frank Vaccaro (Shrewsbury, Mass) got the scoring started when drove an RBI single up the middle. Dan Briand (Northbridge, Mass) followed with a double to right center, scoring two more Hawks. Becker scored two more runs on Wildcat errors, tying the game at 5-5. With two runners on, Jim Ceglarek (Chicago, IL) lined an RBI single up the middle putting the Hawks up 6-5. The Hawks went up 7-5 when Joe Corey (Billerica, Mass) scampered home from third base on a dropped strike three.
In the top of the third Frank Nadjavestky (Avenel, NJ) homered to left field, cutting the Becker lead to 7-6.
Becker added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth with three more runs. Jim Ceglarek got things started with a one out triple into the right centerfield gap. Josue Lopez (Manchester, Conn) followed with an RBI single, making the score 8-6. Weston Meehan (Thomson, GA) joined the hit parade when he doubled in Lopez, making the score 9-6. Dan Briand capped off the inning with another RBI double, putting the Hawks up 10-6.
The Hawks doubled up on the Wildcats in the bottom of the fifth when they added two more runs. Keith Kandel (Fresno, Calif) started the inning with a bloop single. He quickly made his way to home plate with a stolen base and two balks. With two outs, Jim Ceglarek doubled to right center. Josue Lopez followed with an RBI single to left field.
Just when it seemed like the Hawks had a comfortable lead; the Wildcats came charging right back in the top of the sixth. Frank Nadjavestky led off the inning with a mammoth blast to right field. With two runners in scoring position, Waldis Garcia drove in his fifth and sixth runs of the day with a single into centerfield. After Garcia stole second base John Kuschman (Glastonbury, Conn) singled him home, making the score 12-10.
Becker refused to relinquish their lead. In the bottom of the sixth the Hawks scored four more runs. Keith Kandel stepped to the plate with two runners on and doubled to left field, scoring Dan Briand from second base. The Wildcats elected to intentionally walk the bases loaded to set up the double play possibility. Joe Corey followed with a slow roller to the second baseman that was mishandled, allowing another Becker run to score. With the bases still loaded, Jim Ceglarek earned a walk, making the score 15-10. Josue Lopez beat out a double play ball allowing the Hawks sixteenth run of the game to score.
Once again Johnson & Wales refused to go away. In the top of the seventh inning the Wildcats scored four more runs. After three straight walks, Matt Yaeger (Glendale, AZ) singled to left field scoring the eleventh Wildcat run of the day. A walk and a wild pitch later, the Becker lead was down to 16-13. The Wildcats scored one more run on a Becker error.
With the Hawks up 16-14 in the ninth inning, Johnson & Wales loaded the bases before John Kuschman hit the second grand slam of the day for the Wildcats. Johnson & Wales had their first lead since the second inning 18-16.
In the bottom of the ninth Becker had their own ideas as to how this day was going to end. After back to back stolen bases, the Hawks had two runners in scoring position. Geoff Sinnott (Coventry, RI) drove a single inside the first base bag, tying the game at 18-18. Keith Kandel followed with a single to right field, moving Sinnott from first to third. Cody Carlson sent the Hawks home happy when he floated a single in between the third baseman and left fielder, scoring Sinnott from third base with the winning run.
Matt Yaeger took the loss for Johnson & Wales (20-21) Cody Harmes got the win for the 14-13-1 Hawks.
