Dukes Crush Silkworms to Extend Winning Streak
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Silkworm starter Nick Noblit (American International) allowed leadoff singles in the first and second innings but managed to keep the Dukes off the board through the first four. Ness was also setting down the opposition as he only allowed three hits and no walks through his six scoreless innings.
In the top of the fifth inning, the Dukes would break the game open, sending 11 hitters to the plate in a six-run inning. The inning began with Jake Rosenbeck (Buffalo) reaching on an error on first baseman J.D. Broderick (West Virginia State). Jason Martin (San Jose State) then hit a single and Craig Hertler (San Jose State) sacrificed the two runners over. After getting J.T. Musso (BYU) to lineout, Noblit would intentionally walk Chris Edmondson (Le Moyne College) to load up the bases with two outs.
A wild pitch would score Rosenbeck from third and give the Dukes the 1-0 lead. Another walk to Jason Krizan (Dallas Baptist) loaded the bases and Jayson Langfels (Eastern Kentucky) ripped a two run single to increase the lead to 3.
The red-hot Matt Adams (Slippery Rock) continued the inning with a two-run double, giving Pittsfield a commanding 5-0 lead. Kevin Clements then followed with an RBI single, the third straight hit for Pittsfield, to bring the lead to 6.
After Rosenbeck singled in his second at bat of the inning, Martin stepped in with the bases loaded and two outs. The Dukes might have scored more if not for a diving stop by Sean O'Hara (Harvard) at third and throw on to first to beat Martin. Broderick scooped the one hopper but was hurt on the play and was taken to the hospital.
After a long inning, Ness went out for the fifth and set down Manchester 1-2-3, sending the Dukes' bats right back out for the sixth.
The Dukes would continue the damage against reliever Michael Anarumo (Le Moyne College) as they put up another four runs as Pittsfield would sent another 10 hitters to the plate in the inning. Edmondson and Rosenbeck would both hit RBI singles as the Dukes extended the lead to 10.
Ness would go out and throw in the sixth inning, his final inning of work, only facing three hitters above the minimum in his third victory of the season.
Jake Sabol (Central Michigan) and Luke Mazzanti (San Jose State) would keep Manchester scoreless over the final three innings, only allowing one hit, extending the Dukes winning streak to three.
Pittsfield would go on to score another run in the ninth and win the game 11-0. The Dukes stay in a first place tie with Torrington in the South Division with an 8-8 record. Pittsfield will travel back home and host the Danbury, Conn., Westerners on Sunday night at Wahconah Park with Louie Bernardini (Wheaton College) as the probable starter.
Manchester extends their losing streak to five in a row with the loss. Their record drops to 6-9 on the season as the Silkworms will travel to Torrington and face the Twisters in a 6 o'clock showdown. James Kukucka (Eastern Conn. State University) is the slated starter.
