By: Shannon Bickert
The Schooners had a successful road trip to Vermont, downing the Mountaineers 17-6 on Monday, June 29. The win moves the Schooners to 12-7 on the summer.
Casey Wensley (Bryant) tallied a six-RBI night, including a two-run home run and a three-RBI double in Mystic’s nine-run fifth inning.
Jack Harley (Stetson) continued his hot streak in the box, leading off the Schooners with a single through the right side. Sebastian Collander (MGSU) caught Harley stealing, and Vermont’s starter, Nick Falla (SDSU), retired the next two Schooners bats he faced.
David Alvarez (Eastern Kentucky) hit a two-out solo shot deep to right field to give the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
After allowing the long ball, Brady Bouchard (Stetson), settled in nicely, tossing a 1-2-3 second inning for Mystic.
Devin Russell (UNC) led off the third inning with a walk, and Christian Butera (Brown) followed with a single up the middle. Harley reached for the second time, wearing a pitch to load the bases. Falla worked himself in and out of trouble, escaping the traffic jam.
Bouchard continued to sit down the Mountaineers with his second straight three-up, three-down frame in the third.
The Schooners evened things up at one apiece in the fourth. Anthony Belisario (Portal) drew a two-out, four-pitch walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Justin Best (Manhattan) wore a pitch. Belisario and Best worked a double-steal, and an overthrow attempting to catch Best at second allowed Belisario to score.
Alvarez broke up Bouchard’s streak of seven straight retired hitters, but was stranded on the basepaths in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Mystic took advantage when the Mountaineers dipped into their bullpen in the fifth, sending two balls over the fence, putting up a nine-spot. Butera led off and reached for the second time, working a walk against the bullpen arm Kody Collins (MGSU). Wensley drilled a two-run shot deep to right field for his second home run of the season to give Mystic the 3-1 lead. Bryce Detwiler (UConn) kept the line moving with a hard-hit liner into left field and swiped his seventh bag of the summer. Anthony Ruggiero (Portal) followed with a walk, forcing the Mountaineers to make another call to the bullpen. Andrew Gendi (SCU) took the bump, and Jamie Zee (Notre Dame) hopped on the new arm early, sending a ball over the left field fence to give Mystic a 6-1 lead. Belisario continued the rally with his second walk of the night, and Best took advantage of sloppy defense, reaching first on an error by Vermont’s second baseman. Russell wore a pitch to load the bases. Butera added on, reaching for the second time in the inning with an RBI single into center field. Wensley continued to torment the Mountaineers with a bases-clearing double for his fifth RBI of the fifth inning. The bleeding for the Mountaineers continued, as Detwiler reached on an error. Mystic finished the inning leading Vermont 10-1.
Connor Shaw (SDSU) took the bump in the fifth for Mystic. The southpaw struck out two in the inning with a 1-2-3 frame.
Nick Kelly (Fairfield) tossed a much-needed three-up, three-down top of the sixth for the Mountaineers.
Vermont didn’t go down without a fight, putting up a two-out two-run rally in the bottom of the sixth. Elliot Miles (UMass-Boston) ripped a two-out double into left-center field, and Matthew Jackson (SBU) singled up the middle. Miles came in to score on a bobble. Jackson made his way around the bases, stealing second and third, and came home on an overthrow.
The Schooners added three runs in the seventh. Harley hit a slow-rolling infield single to third against Davis Budd (West Carolina) to start the rally. Wensley followed, reaching on an error to put runners on the corners. The Vermont defense continued to falter, and the Schooners continued to capitalize. Harley scored thanks to back-to-back errors to give Mystic an 11-3 lead. Ruggiero loaded the bases for Mystic, working a walk. Zee continued to pour on with an RBI-infield single and a second run scored on an error on the play, making it a 13-3 game.
Jack Ballou (Lindsey Wilson) took the ball in the bottom of the seventh for the Schooners. Bryce Rudisill (Mt. St. Mary’s) led off the inning with a rocket that cleared the right field fence. Aidan Botti (URI) ripped a two-out double down the right-field line. Botti swiped third and came in to score on a bad throw down to third to cut the lead to eight runs.
Best led off the eighth inning with a single through the right side, and Joel Collado (URI) worked a pinch-hit walk. Harley tacked on with an RBI-single that trickled into left field. Wensley continued to attack, adding an RBI-single to his tally, his sixth RBI of the game. Detwiler followed with Mystic’s third straight RBI-single to give Mystic a 16-5 lead.
The Schooners turned to Braden Leed (PSU) in the eighth inning. Jackson hit a ball deep to center field for a triple, but Leed stranded Jackson in scoring position.
Andrew Tringe (Brandeis) allowed walks to Belisario and Collado. Harley knocked his fourth hit of the day, an RBI-single through the right side to make it a 17-5 Mystic lead.
Landon Manzi (Northeastern) made his Schooners debut in the ninth inning. Manzi struggled with command, allowing a hit, hit by pitch and two walks. The Schooners turned to Tristan Aasland (UConn) to get them out of the jam. Aasland shut down the Mountaineers, striking out two.
The Schooners return to the Shipyard on Wednesday, July 1 to face the Waves. Mystic leads the season series 3-0 against Ocean State. First pitch is set for 6:35 pm from Ed Harvey Field.
