Springfield, Mass. - Junior 1B Kent Graham (Longmeadow,
Mass.) belted two doubles and the game-winning, three-run
homer in the top of the eighth inning to lead the Trinity College
Bantams to a 9-8 win over the Springfield College Pride in baseball
action this afternoon. Trinity, ranked No. 4 in the nation,
improves to 9-2 with its second consecutive victory, while the
Pride falls to 3-8 with their fourth loss in a row.
Graham smacked the clinching four-bagger to left field with one
out, after Bantam junior OF Jack Abbott (Longmeadow,
Mass.) and senior co-captain Ryan Piacentini
(Portland, Maine) had drawn walks to open the eighth
frame. Springfield had used five singles and a Trinity
fielding error to score five runs in the bottom of the seventh
inning and take an 8-6 lead, answering a three-run top of the
inning by the Bantams. Trinity junior lefty Derek
Anderson (Great Falls, Va.) stopped the bleeding in the
seventh and earned the win, while junior righty Jeremiah
Bayer (Greenfield, Mass.) worked a perfect ninth to
collect a save.
Trinity executed a double steal to manufacture its first run in
the seventh and break a 3-3 stalemate, as senior co-captain
Sean Killeen (Greenfield, Mass.) sprinted home
from third and beat the throw to the plate after junior OF
James Wood (Windham, N.H.) had swiped second
base. Trinity junior DH Joe Markovich (Mill Creek,
Wash.) added to the lead with a two-run homer to left to
make the score, 6-3, in Trinity's favor.
Trinity came back from a 3-0 deficit with runs in the second,
third, and fourth innings, as Graham scored Trinity's first run on
an RBI double by classmate Stephan Bernstorf (Cockeysville,
Md.) and doubled home Killeen for Trinity's second
run. Piacentini beat out a bobbled ground ball to shortstop
with two outs in the fourth frame to allow the third Bantam run to
cross the plate. Pride senior OF Drew Michael
(Longmeadow, Mass.) opened the game with a first-pitch,
solo homer and Springfield scored twice more in the inning on a
sacrifice fly and an RBI single by senior OF John Procopio
(Oakland, N.J.).
Trinity junior RHP Conor O'Sullivan-Pierce (Cambridge,
Mass.) started the second inning and worked four scoreless
frames to allow the Bantams to fight their way back.
Sophomore righty Steven Forbes (Northport, N.Y.)
started for Springfield and allowed three runs and six hits in 5.1
innings, while Pride rookie lefty Adam DeFelice (Avon,
Conn.) took the loss on the hill.
