Dukes' Bats Sparkle in 2nd Straight Win
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Starter Alex MacKenzie (Canisius) started the game by striking out all three hitters he faced in the first inning. The Canisius student athlete struck out Corey Shimada (Utah) and Joe De Pinto (USC) looking, and then retired Chase Austin (Elon) swinging to set down the Twisters in the first.
Torrington starter Josh Zeid (Tulane) set down the Dukes 1-2-3 in his first inning, but really struggled in the second. Following a leadoff walk to Jason Krizan (Dallas Baptist) and a fly out by Jayson Langfels (Eastern Kentucky), Zeid would give up three consecutive hits.
Matt Adams (Slippery Rock) and Perry Silverman (Canisius) singled to load up the bases with one out. Jake Rosenbeck (Buffalo) followed with a bases clearing double to the left center field gap, scoring 3 Dukes on the play, and giving Pittsfield the 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third, the Dukes continued to tag the Twister starter. Zeid came into the game without allowing a run in New England Colliegate Basbeball League play, but Pittsfield continued their powerful hitting.
Adams would record on his second hit of the game, a two-run double to left field, to increase the lead to five. The Dukes added another run in the inning as Rosenbeck added his fourth run of the game on an RBI single to give Pittsfield the 6-0 lead.
With the big lead, MacKenzie continued to pitch well in his fourth start of the season. He only allowed two hits scattered over the first five innings, striking out four on the evening.
Torrington scored in the sixth inning on a groundout from De Pinto, and an RBI single from Bryson Rahier (San Jose State) in the seventh to close the gap to four runs.
Trailing 6-2, Zeid stayed on the mound for the seventh as Pittsfield took the run right back. Perry Silverman reached on a fielder's choice as Krizan scored to give Pittsfield the 7-2 lead.
MacKenzie stayed out for the eighth inning and retired the hitters in order as he exited the game with a five-run lead. Pittsfield added another run in the eighth as Chris Edmondson (Le Moyne College) hit an RBI triple to right field off reliever Alex Valadja (JMU) as the Dukes would take the 8-2 lead and would go on to win by that score.
Adam Knight (Georgia State) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to preserve the win as the Dukes took their second-straight game and recorded their first win at Wahconah Park since a June 9 victory against Danbury.
Pittsfield improves to 7-8 with the victory and will travel to Manchester, Conn., Saturday night to play the Silkworms at 7 p.m. Michael Ness (Duke) is the probable starter for Pittsfield with a 0.95 ERA in his three starts.
With the loss, Torrington drops to 6-7 on the season after losing their second straight game. The Twisters will host the North Adams SteepleCats at at home at Fuessenich Park on Saturday night. The game is scheduled to start 7 p.m. with Eric Jokisch (Northwestern) as the projected starter.
