Drury Passes Tough Test Against Rutland
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- The Drury baseball team was a bit shorthanded due to SAT testing in its game against Rutland on Saturday. Those who were on the field for the Blue Devils, however, passed the Raiders' test in a 4-3 win at Joe Wolfe Field.Junior starter Robert Jutras was a little slow out of the gate but settled in nicely as the game went along. He ended up allowing three earned runs on the day, striking out seven and walking four to earn his second win of the season. With Drury (5-3) up by one run in the seventh, head coach Al Marceau turned to junior Max Quinn, who struck out one batter and pitched a scoreless final frame to earn the save.
Rutland scored single runs in the first and fifth innings, only to see the Blue Devils put up two runs of their own in the bottom of each frame. The Raiders made it interesting with a run in the sixth inning, but the hosts made enough plays down the stretch to secure the win.
"We were shorthanded due to SATs to start the game, but we went out and made some things happen against a tough left-hander today," Marceau said. "Jutras really struggled early with mechanics and command, but was able to work through it and gave us six strong innings. Quinn then came in and closed the door against a very good Rutland team.
"Joel Giorgi and Chase Preite really stepped up for us offensively today and delivered big hits. I thought we showed some mental toughness late in the game with [catcher] Cody Primmer gunning down the tying run at second base on a steal attempt. Zack Plante also came in a really contributed to a great team victory."
Preite led the Drury offense, going 2 for 3 with two RBI and one run scored. Giorgi and senior captain Mike Tatro each collected a hit and run batted in on the day as well.
The Blue Devils now embark on week that has them playing five games in a span of five days. They start things off with a home game against Brattleboro at 7 p.m. on Monday night.