Drury Tops McCann Tech for Second Straight Win
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The Drury baseball team Tuesday overcame an emotional first inning en route to a 7-2 win over McCann Tech at Joe Wolfe Field.
The Blue Devils bench was clearly fired up after three batters were hit in the top of the first.
But Drury was able to channel that energy into a four-run second to take a 5-0 lead, and Nick Lescarbeau struck out nine hitters in five innings as the Blue Devils improved to 2-1.
Drury coach Robert Jutras said he was concerned that the three hit batters, including two who took pitches off their helmets, could be a distraction.
“It’s a seven-inning game,” Jutras said. “We can’t get too high or too low. We’ve just got to keep plugging away and playing Drury baseball. That’s what we try to do. If we do that, it’ll be alright.
“It was definitely out of the norm. We’ve got to be athletes. We’ve got to keep our head on straight and understand that we’ve still got a game to play.”
McCann Tech starter Ozzie Webber struggled with his control, hitting four batters and walking two in 1-plus innings of work.
He walked one and hit two in a row to load the bases in the first and then hit Logan Davis to drive in the game’s first run.
In the second, Steven Cornell drew a one-out walk ahead of back-to-back singles by Connor Hinkell and Ben Moulton. Moulton’s single drove in a pair of runs and left runners at second and third.
Lescarbeau was hit by a pitch, ending Webber’s day and loading the bases.
Noah Miller’s sacrifice fly made it 3-0 and left runners at the corners with two out. Lescarbeau then stole second, and an overthrow to third attempting to double up Moulton was wild, allowing both runners to come home and give Drury a five-run lead.
The Hornets got on the board in the fourth thanks to a leadoff single by Collin Booth and Austin Buda’s RBI single.
Drury tacked on runs in the sixth, when Hinkell scored on a wild pitch, and in the seventh, when Anthony Pettengill doubled, stole third and scored on a wild pitch.
A wild pitch also accounted for McCann’s second run in the bottom of the sixth. Booth reached on a single and went to third on Aaron Livsey’s base hit before a ball to the backstop let Booth score.
Hinkell closed the door on the Hornets’ rally by coming on in relief and recording the third out with a strikeout with the bases loaded.
Combined, Lescarbeau and Hinkell stranded eight runners in the win.
“Nick did a great job,” Jutras said. “Working ahead, just making competitive pitches, making them put the ball in play and just kept attacking. And when he does that, we like what our defense can do when we let them put the ball in play.”
Drury committed no errors in the field; Davis threw out two runners from behind the plate.
Drury (2-1) goes to Smith Academy on Thursday.
McCann Tech (1-1) goes to Turners Falls on Thursday.