MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College baseball team was edged 6-5 by visiting Suffolk University in non-conference action at the Jack Vallely Diamond on Thursday afternoon. With the victory, the Rams moved to 21-11-1 overall while the loss drops the Colonels to 9-19-1 overall.
Curry was the first to get on the board, tallying one in the bottom of the second. Freshman Jason Leonard (Dedham, Mass.) got on with a single to left field. Senior Tyler Jenkins (East Bridgewater, Mass.) followed with a double to center, which plated Leonard for the 1-0 lead.
Suffolk responded in the top of the second with a run as sophomore Will Hopkins (Old Rochester, Mass.) led off with a double to right-center gap and came in one batter later on a single put the middle by junior Tim Brigham (Cape Elizabeth, Maine).
Curry opened up a two-run advantage as they pushed across two more runs in the bottom of the second. Sophomore Riley Cronin (East Providence, R.I.) drove in the first run of the frame on a single to right, which scored senior Spencer Cookson (Sheffield, Mass.). Two batters later, Cronin came around to score on a base hit to left by junior Jared Keller (Oxford, Conn.) as the Colonels grabbed the 3-1 advantage.
The Rams took the lead in the fourth as they plated three. After a leadoff single by senior Trevor Lee (Flanders, N.J.) and a walk to sophomore Blasé Cormier (Wayland, Mass.), Hopkins stepped to the dish and singled through the left side to plate Lee. Two batters later, sophomore Rich Giandrea (Audobon, N.J.) fouled out to first base with runners on second and third. Cormier tagged up third and scored on the foul-out. On the next play, Hopkins came home on a wild pitch to grab its first lead, 4-3.
Junior Adam Duarte (East Providence, R.I.) propelled Curry back into the lead in the fifth with a two-RBI double to left center, scoring sophomores Dylan Ketterer (Plymouth, Mass.) and Garrett Fosher (Exeter, N.H.) to give the Colonels a 5-4 advantage.
The game remained a one-score contest until the top of the ninth. Sophomore Shane Lake (West Roxbury, Mass.) was the first to get on, by way of a hit by pitch. Senior Connor Troio (Shrewsbury, Mass.) drew a walk to get two on. After a pinch runner, junior Rich Gilbride (Beverly, Mass.) moved the runners over with a single down the right-field line. Suffolk knotted the score at five in the next at-bat as Lee converted on a sacrifice fly to center to score Lake. They scored the go-ahead run on a double by Cormier, scoring sophomore Zack Aresty (Wayland, Mass.).
The Colonels were retired 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth as the Rams came away with the 6-5 victory.
Sophomore Parker Browne (Shrewsbury, Mass.) allowed just one hit and struck out six while earning the win for the visitors. Sophomore Zachary Wensley (Raynham, Mass.) was tagged with the loss, tossing the final two innings. He allowed two runs (both earned) on two hits while walking one and fanning one in the setback.
Hopkins finished 2-for-5 with one RBI and two runs scored. Lee, Cormier Hopkins, and Brigham supplied two hits apiece while three others entered the hit column for Suffolk.
Cronin was the lone Curry student-athlete with multiple hits as the sophomore closed the day going 2-for-4 at the dish with an RBI and one run scored.
Curry will remain at home tomorrow, April 18 as they host Emerson College at 3:30 p.m. Suffolk will also play tomorrow at UMass Boston at 4:30 p.m.
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