By Chris Gionta
@Chris_Gionta
The Springfield College baseball team was down 6-4 in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out, but there were men on first and second base and their cleanup hitter Noah Bleakley coming up to the plate. Things looked hopeful for the Pride, but the hope was quickly snatched when Bleakley’s fly ball was caught by the left fielder, who then threw the ball to second base to get the runner, who was too far off the base.
“There were some opportunities in that game that we didn’t capitalize on,” said Springfield head coach Mark Simeone.
Amherst started the game on top after a triple and a single scored the first run of the game. However, it was the only damage they did until the fifth inning.
The Pride, meanwhile, began a hit parade in the bottom of the third inning. With one out in the inning, Michael Barrett hit a hard ground ball up the middle for a single. Next, Jack Simonetty hit a single up the middle. Then, Cadin Maynard hit an RBI single to right field to tie it up. Noah Bleakley followed that up with a hard line drive into center field to give the Pride the lead. The next batter was Ryan Sorgi, who drove Maynard in on a sacrifice fly. Then, after a couple walks, the bases were loaded for Luke DiMauro, who also walked to make it 4-1 in Springfield’s favor.
The Mammoths provided a scare in the fourth inning when they loaded the bases with one out. But, Ian Benoit induced a soft ground ball to himself, and he threw it to Sorgi to get the force out at home, who threw it to first to get the double play.
In the fifth inning, four of the first five Amherst hitters were walked, which scored a run. The Mammoths also scratched another run across in the inning on a fielder’s choice.
In the seventh frame, Amherst loaded the bases on a single, a walk, and an error. Then, it tied the game on a walk. The next batter did an inside-out swing that caused a blooper to the right side and was placed perfectly beyond the second baseman and short of the right fielder. This single gave the Mammoths a 5-4 lead, then a sacrifice fly extended it to 6-4.
No more runs scored for the rest of the game despite some hard contact and solid opportunities. Jack Simonetty’s final two at-bats consisted of hard line drives to the right side, but both went directly to the second baseman for an out. In the seventh inning, with a man on first base and one out, Jack Cooney hit a line drive that was caught by the second baseman and turned into a double play.
“That’s baseball,” Simeone said. “Sometimes you barrel up a ball on the sweet spot and it’s a double play, and sometimes you hit one off the tape off your bat and it’s a base hit.”
Springfield’s record fell to 14-16, and their next matchup takes place at Archie Allen Field against Clark University at 3:30 p.m.
Photo: Springfield College Athletics