This past Sunday, the Panthers took on out-of-conference Daniel Webster Eagles in a double header. Both teams were looking to sweep the day in an effort to turn their seasons around entering the last few weeks of games.
The first game of the day remained somewhat quiet as senior pitcher Michael Welch (Westfield, MA) was on the bump, going five full innings, letting up five runs on six hits before sophomore Dallas DeFrancesco (Meriden, CT) took over to finish it off. The offense was quiet until the bottom of the 4th inning when right fielder, Justin Walsh (Goffstown, N.H.) hit an RBI triple to score Jake Broom (New London, N.H.), and Walsh eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Paul Reny (South Portland, ME). The Eagles responded with four quick runs of their own and another two the following inning. Daniel Webster was ahead 7-3 going into the home half of the 7th when Plymouth quickly added on three runs off of a pair of doubles by sophomore Jarek Krajewski (Cranston, R.I.), who drove in two runs, and freshman Cam Ruziak (Sterling, MA). The Panthers were unable to complete the comeback as a fly out and groundout ended game one. Daniel Webster: 7 vs. Plymouth State: 6.
Game 2 was another story, as the Panther pitching shut down the Eagle offense. Senior Robbie Greenleaf (Lee, N.H.) was a dominant force as he went 5.2 innings deep, striking out three and allowed the only two Eagles’ runs on five hits. Scoring didn’t begin until the bottom of the 3rd, when Plymouth broke the stalemate that sparked from some fundamental baseball. Ian Grimes (Milford, MA) received an RBI as he grounded out into a fielder’s choice, later Reny hit an RBI triple and scored on a passed ball. Just two innings later the Panthers doubled their lead. It started when freshman Luke Mancini (Scotia, N.Y.) hit an RBI triple. Just three batters later, senior Brian Thompson (Southington, CT) hit in two runs with a single of his own to left. By winning this game, head coach Dennis MacManus received his 500th win, The Clock will have more regarding this milestone. Daniel Webster: 2 vs. Plymouth State: 7.
Notes: Plymouth State Baseball’s pitching staff was a tough and confident force Sunday, despite Welch receiving the loss in game one. Hopefully, this type of senior leadership will continue for in-conference games, and allow PSU baseball to get back on the winning track to close out the year and make a run for the Little East Conference title. The Plymouth State Panthers played the in-state and in-conference rival Keene State this past Thursday, with scores being unavailable for press time.