BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Baseball team suffered its first Commonwealth Coast Conference loss in ten games with a doubleheader split against Colby-Sawyer College, defeating the Chargers 4-2 before falling 2-5 in nine innings.
The first game saw both teams held scoreless over the first three innings. Colby-Sawyer threatened to score in the top of the first, but Jon Wylie (Ipswich, Mass.) was caught in a rundown trying to score from third for the final out of the inning.
Colby-Sawyer would eventually go on top in the fourth inning, taking a 2-0 lead on a two-out, two-RBI single by Andy Lapple (Newtown, Conn.), scoring Greg Mehuron (Waitsfield, Vt.) and Shane Hoagboon (Mayfield, N.Y.).
Roger Williams put its first runs of the game on the board in the fifth inning, with John Oppenhimer (Westport, Conn.) bringing in Mike Pascarella (Milford, Conn.) and TJ Oliver (Manchester, Vt.) with a two-RBI double. Later in the inning, the Hawks would take the lead with Trevor Manzi (Beverly, Mass.) scoring on a sacrifice fly by Zach Porter (Middleboro, Mass.) to make it 3-2 in favor of RWU.
The Hawks tacked on an insurance run in the sixth on another sacrifice fly, this time with Chris Ford (Plainville, Mass.) coming in on the productive out by Tony Trafecanty (Franklin, Mass.). Tyler Pogmore (Lebanon, Conn.) would strand Wylie at second in the top of the seventh for his sixth save of the year.
Josh Orosz (Fairfield, Conn.) improved to 6-0 on the year with the win, giving up two runs in five innings with five strikeouts. Oppenhimer went- 2-for-3 in the game with two RBI, while Pascarella was 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Kevin Keith (Quincy, Mass.) took the loss, allowing three runs in five innings. Wylie finished 3-for-4, with Hoagboon going 1-for-2 with a run scored and a stolen base.
The second game began similar to the first, with both teams failing to score in the early innings. Sean Boyle (Arlington, Mass.) worked out of a jam with runners at the corners in the first and would keep the Chargers off the board in the first four innings. His Colby-Sawyer counterpart Ryan Gillan (Alton, N.H.) was similarly strong, yielding only one hit over the same span. He was also able to keep the Hawks off the board, including a foul out to third with the bases loaded to end the fifth inning.
Colby-Sawyer took the first lead of the game in the fifth, with Sean Gavin (Keene, N.H.) getting an RBI single, followed by a sac fly by Wylie to take a 2-0 lead. The Hawks would get one of those runs back in the sixth on a leadoff home run by Manzi to right.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Hawks would tie the game at two apiece, with Trafecanty bringing in pinch runner Chris Comeau (Southbury, Conn.) on a pinch-hit RBI single.
After a scoreless eighth, Colby-Sawyer took advantage of an errant throw to third on an attempted force out, with Andy Lapple (Westport, Mass.) scoring from second and Cameron Knight (Cambridge, Mass.) scoring from first. Hoagboon added one more run with an RBI groundout. The Hawks mustered a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth but could not get the tying run to the plate, as Colby-Sawyer held on.
Ricky Perzentz (Westport, Mass.) earned the win, pitching three scoreless innings of relief for Gillan, who allowed two runs with six strikeouts in six innings. Knight was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs, while Gavin finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run.
Chris Anderson (Westerly, R.I.) took the loss, giving up three unearned runs in 1.2 innings of relief. Starter Boyle pitched 7.1 innings, giving up two runs with four Ks. Manzi's solo shot was his only hit of the game, while Trafecanty was 1-for-1 with an RBI.
Roger Williams (20-17, 14-6 TCCC) travels to the University of Massachusetts-Boston Tuesday for a 3:30 p.m. game, while Colby-Sawyer (12-19, 6-14 TCCC) hosts Nichols on Tuesday.
