SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - It was an unusual scene at Richard F. Bedard Field for the baseball fans braving the cold and win; the bottom row on the scoreboard that read "AIC" contained the totals for visiting Assumption University.
But while Mother Nature remained undefeated, forcing a series originally scheduled for Worcester to come to Springfield, the American International College baseball team also won, taking its "home" opener as the road team by defeating its Northeast 10 Conference rivals 5-3 and 3-2 on Saturday, March 14.
AIC is now 6-8 overall and 2-0 in the NE10.
Afforded the unusual opportunity to be the first team to hit on their home turf, the Yellow Jackets took full advantage.
Leandro Guevara smacked a 1-2 pitch over the head of the right fielder, and
Josh Frometa followed with a 2-2 liner down the left field line for a pair of bases and scoring Guevara.
In the second, AIC did not wait until two outs to get the rally going.
Aidan Streeter lined a 2-2 pitch into the right-center gap for a double, and two batters later,
Richie Segura drove the first pitch he saw into right to bring Steeter home. Two batters after that,
Yeudy Ramirez found the wall in left-center on an 0-1 pitch to bring Segura home and give AIC a 3-0 lead.
In the fifth, Guevara led off, and worked the count full before Assumption's pitcher made a mistake, throwing a fastball down the middle. The senior catcher punished the baseball, crushing a no-doubt shot to left-center for his second of the season.
Alex Dye then macked a double into the gap, and scored two hitters later with
Wesley Alfonso hitting a 3-2 pitch just out of the reach of the second baseman. AIC's lead stood at 5-0 at the midpoint of the game.
Those two runs proved critical; the Greyhounds responded with three of their own in their half of the frame. A walk, single, double, and two more singles accounted for the scoring, although the "home" team left the tying run on base in the inning.
That was it for the offenses, however;
Austin Rhodes sat the side down in order in the sixth to finish a strong outing that saw him scatter six hits against eight strikeouts to earn the win and improve to 1-1.
Romel Roca took it the rest of the way, throwing three perfect innings and fanning three on 34 pitches to earn his first save of the season.
In the second game, the offenses were mostly silent thanks to strong pitching;
Leo Vitale did allow a runner to reach in each of the first two frames, but followed with two quick outs in both cases to get out of the innings, while Tiarnan Doyle faced the minimum through three, allowing a flare single to
Albis Felix but picking him off in the third.
AIC broke the deadlock in the fourth. Ramirez hit a spinning ball a third of the way between the catcher and first base and beat it out for an infield hit. He then stole second, additionally taking third as the throw went awry.
Cole Patterson then took a 3-1 pitch and drove it through the right side, scoring the 2025 NE10 Player of the Year for a 1-0 AIC lead.
Despite the run, both pitchers continued to work their stuff to great effect; the next scoring threat was in the fifth, with Assumption putting men on the corners with two outs after a pair of infield hits, but an attempted double steal led to the final out of the frame as the AIC defense put the lead runner away.
In the seventh, Segura worked a six-pitch walk and was lifted for
Josh Mikulski to pinch run. Streeter bunted Mikulski over, but it ultimately did not matter, as Felix came to the dish next and clobbered a 1-1 pitch over the right-center field fence for his first collegiate home run, finally knocking Doyle from the game.
"I was just looking for something to hit hard. It was a close game all game...just trying to score another run, something to drive up the middle. There's no feeling to describe it," Felix said of the home run after the game.
Head Coach
Nick Callini said after the game, "Those are the stories that you love. He's a kid that's worked hard for two years, done everything we've asked, and put himself in position to be rewarded with time."
AIC seemed to have the game sewn up after two quick outs in the bottom of the seventh, and Assumption was down to its last strike with its third hitter of the inning. The next pitch hit him, however, and the two batters thereafter walked, bringing the top of the order to the plate. A single scored two, and after another hit batter, the Greyhounds suddenly had the winning run in scoring position.
Callini made the decision to call on
Brandon Morrison, and he got the job done; after two misses and a foul, Morrison induced a flyout to right-center that Patterson caught to end the game.
The ending somewhat spoiled a stellar outing for the rookie starter, who had scattered four hits across the first 6.2 innings and had only allowed one free pass prior to the five straight men reaching in the last inning, but he still earned the win to improve to 3-0. Morrison picked up his first save of the season by getting the final out.
"Protecting Bedard...it's our field," Felix said of the wins.
The two teams will battle again on Sunday, March 15 beginning with a first pitch at noon in game three of the four-game set.
