Pitching and good defense were the stars of the show once again for the Varsity Dons as three pitchers combined for 12 innings of incredibly stout pitching. Just back from football, Dante Montgomery (jr) pitched a six-inning gem as the starter allowing three hits and recording nine Ks. Ethan Rowland (jr) came on in relief for four more innings of shutout ball, battling the cold wind which was beginning to dominate the game. Miles Bergman relived to pitch a hitless 11th and 12th to get the Win.
The Dons threatened to score several times, most notably in the top of the 10th when Will Berrien walked on ball four and went to first base but the Ump ruled that after ball four was pitched when Berrien tossed his bat toward the dugout that it should count as a swing of the bat – for strike three. Instead of a walk it was a strikeout! The cold and wind was beginning to effect the Umps as well as the spectators. This play was especially important given the walk to Connor McPhail (jr) and double by Ben Burleigh that followed the bizarre play.
Ben Burleigh and the Dons were not to be denied however, even though they may have felt the game was stolen by the Umps. In the top of the 12th, Will Berrien reached on an error and went to 3rd on a single by Tobias Schwing (so). That set the stage for Burleigh’s third and most important hit which was ripped for a single between the SS and 3rd baseman to score Schwing and set the stage for the bottom of the 12th. The Dons managed only six hits through 12 innings of stellar pitching and Burleigh ended with three of them.
In the 12th, the Dons managed through the growing darkness and biting wind thanks in part to continued excellent defense with Brady Hutchingson robbing the Concord batter of a well earned hit when he leapt several feet in the air to snag a hard hit line drive. And throughout 12 innings, Jack Cusumano was a wall behind the plate.
Combined with the prior game, the Dons are riding 19 innings of shutout baseball and are riding a two-game win streak. Go Dons!