Dukes Win Game 1 Over 'Cats; Game 2 at Joe Wolfe Tonight
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The 'Cats will continue the Battle of the Berkshires tonight at Joe Wolfe Field in North Adams. If the SteepleCats win tonight, play continues on Monday to see who will continue in the Southern Division playoffs of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.
Saturday's game was postponed for about 90 minutes because of rain, but the two teams held out hope as Dukes starter Michael Ness (Duke) matched up against SteepleCat starter Tim Boyce (Univ of Rhode Island) on the mound.
North Adams would score first in the top of the second inning on an RBI single from Derek Shaw (Florida Gulf Coast). With the 1-0 lead, Tim Boyce came into the game with a 0.95 ERA and 7-1 record and continued to pitch well. Boyce would hold Pittsfield to just three hits and pick up three strikeouts over his first four innings of work.
In the top of the fifth, T.J. Greig (Malloy College) would increase the lead with a two-run double and put North Adams ahead 3-0. Boyce would retire the side in the fifth inning, and North Adams would threaten again in the sixth.
With one out, Ryan Delgado (Chaffey College) drew a walk, and Greg Van Horn (Brookdale CC) reached on a two base throwing error by Jake Rosenbeck (Buffalo). With runners at second and third, Dukes manager Mike Marron decided to bring the infield in. Shaw would then hit a grounder to second, and Craig Hertler (San Jose State) threw home to retire Delgado for the second out. Ness would then retire Mike Donato (UMASS) on a groundout to end the threat.
In the bottom half of the 6th, the Dukes would mount a comeback. Jason Martin (San Jose State) led off the inning with a single, and Craig Hertler followed with an infield single to but two runners on with no one out. Boyce would then strike out Jayson Langfels (Eastern Kentucky) but hit Chris Edmondson (Le Moyne) to load up the bases.
Jason Krizan (Dallas Baptist) hit a slow rolling RBI groundout to second to score the Dukes' first run of the game and Matt Adams (Slippery Rock) would tie the game at three with a two-run single to center field. Jake Rosenbeck, who struck out in his first two at-bats, would then double home Adams and give Pittsfield the 4-3 lead.
Ness would retire the side in the seventh and work his way into the eighth inning with the lead. Jonny Smith (Niagara University) led off the inning with a double, and a sacrifice bunt from Sean Parker (CCSU) would move the runner up to third with one out. Closer Zach Anderson (Duke) would then enter the game for Ness to strikeout Delgado and retire Van Horn on a groundout to end the inning.In the ninth inning, Anderson would stay in the game but get into some more trouble after getting the first out. Donato reached on a single and Ryan Semeniuk (Wake Forest) drew a walk to put two runners on base with one out. John Malloy (La Salle Univ) would then hit a foul pop up to left field for the second out of the inning. Greig then hit a groundball to first, and Krizan flipped to Anderson covering for the third out to secure the victory.
The Pittsfield Dukes would win Game 1 of the series 4-3 and take the 1-0 lead in the best of three matchup. Michael Ness gets the win after going 7 1/3 innings and allowing three runs (all earned) on seven hits. Tim Boyce took the loss in the contest pitching seven innings, yielding four runs (three earned) in his second loss of the season, both of which have come against the Pittsfield Dukes.
The series will continue tonight in North Adams at 7. Craig Crumbly (Florida Gulf Coast) will start for the SteepleCats. Crumbly is 3-1 with a 3.44 earned run average on the season. He will be opposed by Kyle Vazquez (Franklin Pierce) for the Pittsfield Dukes. Vazquez was 4-0 this season for Pittsfield with a 1.99 ERA.
Fans can listen to all Pittsfield Dukes games on the NECBL Broadcast Network.
