Coming off a 2-1 extra winning home win against the defending DAL champion College Park Falcons on Tuesday, the Dons were pumped for Thursday’s away contest against the Falcons.  They knew they would be facing a hard-throwing UCLA commit at some point, so they needed to take advantage of their offensive opportunities and come out strong on defense.

Just like Tuesday, Miles Bergman (sr) opened the game by reaching base with a hard-hit single through the six-hole.  He advanced to 2^nd on a well-executed bunt by Will Berrien (sr), and 3^rd on a single by Niko O’ Rourke (jr).  The hot hitting Kyle White proceeded to drive in Bergman with line drive single to right, and the Dons were once again up 1-0.

Dante Montgomery (sr) started on the mound for the Dons and when he struck out the first batter it was clear he was bringing his A-game.  Dante was dealing, but the Falcons were able to manufacture an unearned run in the 2^nd, tying the score at 1-1.

It didn’t take long for the Dons to recapture the lead.  Bergman and Berrien led off the 3^rd with back-to-back singles, and both later trotted the extra 270 feet in the inning to cross the plate and put the Dons up 3-1.

Meanwhile Dante kept dealing and kept the Falcons off the scoreboard.  The score was still 3-1 in the 4^th when the Falcons turned to their ace.  With a half dozen MLB scouts on hand and their radar guns reading 90, the Dons must have thought they needed to make a 3-1 score hold up.  However, in the 5^th the Dons were able to manufacture another run as Berrien found a way to get on base and came around to score on another Kyle White RBI single.  Dons 4-College Park 1.

Having thrown 90 pitches last week, the versatile Dante moved to shortstop and gave way to the bullpen in the 5^th.  The Falcons bats came alive in the bottom of the 5^th and were able to score a run and put runners on 1^st and 2^nd without recording out, when Benjy Braunstein (sr) was called into pitch.  Having pitched a couple innings on Tuesday, it wasn’t clear how Benjy would fare.  That question was answered three batters later when Benjy set the Falcons down 1-2-3, and the Dons were out of the inning without giving up another run, still up 4-2.

The Dons saw the brilliance of a top D-1 recruit and potential MLB pitcher over the next two innings, while the Falcons were able to manufacture a run in the bottom of the 6^th to bring the score to 4-3.  That was as close as the Falcons would get, though, as Benjy held his composure, Montgomery made a great play at shortstop, Bergman had an incredible scoop at 2^nd, and O’Rourke put his body on the line for a fly ball…and the Dons held on for a 4-3 win.

What a great 2-0 start for the Dons in league play, having knocked off one of the DAL favorites in consecutive games.  Next up Northgate.  Tuesday is away and Thursday is at home.  Both games are at 4pm.  Come out and support this exciting team.