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| Recap, photo courtesy of Gordon College |
Gordon snaps a five-game losing streak—its longest of the season—in the process and moves to 18-12 this year. The Scots move two games above .500 in the CCC standings and put themselves in prime playoff position at 7-5. Wentworth falls to 8-18 and 2-8 in conference.
Game One: Wentworth 3 – 4 Gordon
All was fairly quiet in the early going as each starting pitcher got some help from their defense.
Gordon threatened with a base hit in each of the first three innings, including a lead-off double from Alex Smith (Wethersfield, Conn.) in the second, but all opportunities were squandered.
The visitors broke the scoring drought in the top of the fourth as they put two runners on with one out thanks to a walk and hit by pitch. Junior Jimmy Temte (Northborough, Mass.) made the Scots pay with a single up the middle of the diamond. Wentworth threatened to put more on the board, but a nifty double play started by Gordon first baseman Dean Demers (Sandy Hook, Conn.) got the Scots out of further trouble.
Gordon tied the game in the bottom half of the frame with Demers kicking things off with a doubles inside the line in left. The junior eventually scored on a Travis Benoit (Worcester, Mass.) single over the Wentworth shortstop.
The Leopards took control of the game in the fifth, scoring twice with two outs in the inning. A trio of Wentworth singles juiced the bases before Jordan Burst (Jackson, N.J.) knocked in both runs on a double to the gap in right. Gordon starter Scott Hall (Weymouth, Mass.) left runners on second and third with a strikeout, but Wentworth took a 3-1 advantage.
Christian Hodge (Waltham, Mass.) chipped away with a solo shot to opposite field as the first batter in the bottom of the fifth.
After a fairly routine defensive half of the sixth, Gordon took its first lead of the game in the home half. Ryan Paulsen (Latham, N.Y.) struck out swinging, but made it to first on a passed ball to the backstop. He made it to second only moments later on a failed pickoff attempt to put the tying run in scoring position.
Smith doubled for the second time in the game two pitches later to score Paulsen and put the Scots in position for a lead. Smith stole second to set up Chris Leavitt (Bridgewater, Mass.) for a single just inside the bag at third for the 4-3 lead.
Christian Ferri (Bloomfield, N.J.) led off the seventh with a single and made it to second on a sacrifice bunt, but Hall got a flyout and groundout to preserve the comeback victory.
Aaron Denis (Dover, N.H.) took the loss despite striking out six Scots on the day. Hall picked up his fifth win with the quality start, allowing three runs on seven hits and K'ing two.
Game Two: Wentworth 9 – 10 Gordon
Just like game one, Wentworth jumped out to the early lead. The Fighting Scots put themselves in trouble in the top of the first inning as the Leopards quickly loaded the bases following a game-opening groundout. Tyler Weninger (Chandler, Ariz.) had a double during the spurt.
The Leopards scored their first run on a hit batter with the bases loaded. Gordon starter Ryan Block (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) got a pop up in the infield and a ground ball to potentially end the inning, but an error on the right side allowed another run to score.
Wentworth's 2-0 lead held until the bottom of the fourth inning when the Scots changed the landscape of the game.
Demers double to left field to begin things, while Paulsen walked and Smith singled with a bunt to load things up. Leavitt was robbed on a nice acrobatic play by Temte at short, but that would be the last out the Leopards would record for nine batters.
Gordon scored its first run on a wild pitch before Hodge put the Scots up 3-2 on a triple to the wall in right-center. A pair of errors kept the inning alive for Gordon and scored three more runs for a 6-2 advantage.
Addison Tarr (Oxnard, Calif.) added an RBI-double for a five-run lead before back-to-back singles by Demers and Paulsen to make it 8-2. The nightmare ended four batters later, but not before Gordon put the cap on a 10-run frame on a pair of groundballs.
Wentworth fought back for one run in the sixth with three hits, including an RBI-single by Ferri to the deep part at short.
Gordon looked well on its way to a slanted victory when Wentworth put on the rally caps in the top of the seventh.
The Leopards loaded the bases with a walk and two singles. Byron Kucharski (East Haven, Conn.) and Ross Golebiewski (Lyme, Conn.) kept the hit parade going with RBI singles to make it a 10-5 game with only one out.
A pitching chance lent itself to a walk with the bases loaded to make it 10-6, forcing Gordon to bring in closer Caleb Bae (Canyon Country, Calif.). Ferri shot a 1-1 pitch into shallow center to score one run, but an uncharacteristic error by Tarr allowed two more to cross the plate and put the tying run on third.
Bae was able to get the big second out on a comebacker to the pitcher and struck out the final Wentworth batter to leave the equalizer 90 feet from home.
Block picked up the win, scattering eight hits and two earned in 5.1 innings. Bae capitalized for his second save of the year.
Weninger took the loss after being sent out in the top of the fourth with Gordon leading 3-2.
Wentworth doubled up the Scots with 14 hits, three coming off the bat of Ferri at the top of the order. Demers led Gordon with two hits.
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