Another Late Lapse Dooms Drury
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. -- The Drury baseball team has no problem starting games. It's finishing them that is giving the Blue Devils troubles so far this season.Playing in the consolation round of the Monument Mountain Tournament on Monday, Al Marceau's club jumped out to a 4-0 lead against Wahconah in the first inning. Drury then held the Warriors scoreless through the first four innings, only to see Wahconah rally back with seven runs over the final three frames. Warriors' pitcher Ryan Forfa replaced injured starter Kyle Kasala early in the game and pitched five no-hit innings to lead his team to a 7-4 win.
In two games this season, the Blue Devils (0-2) have outscored their opponents 5-1 over the first four innings but have been outscored 11-3 over the last three frames.
"This was a tough loss for us," Marceau said. "We looked good for the first two innings, but then our mental approach to the game really went downhill. We need to keep our focus for the entire game, not just in spurts here and there.
"We need a few players to re-evaluate what they want out of the season as a whole. Lack of adjustments and focus on what coaches are saying is keeping us from putting together a complete game. We should be at full strength going forward and that will give us more flexibility to put players on the field that buy into the program."
Drury junior Robert Jutras looked good through the first four frames, but ran into trouble in a five-run fifth inning for Wahconah. He was charged with six runs, only three of which were earned, while striking out five batters and walking just one to take the loss. The Blue Devils defense didn't help him with three errors in the game.
Overall, the Warriors outhit the Blue Devils 12-3. All three of Drury's hits came in the first two innings when Kasala was still in the game. Peter Dassati did the most damage on offense, collecting three RBI on just one hit.
The Blue Devils will try to break through with their first win of the season on Thursday, when they host rival Hoosac Valley at 1 p.m.