Late-Rallying Dukes Still Catch Silkworms
PITTSFIELD — The Dukes trailed early, rallied late, and slammed the door shut on an eventful July 4th victory at Wahconah Park against the Manchester (Conn.) Silkworms 6-5.Pittsfield would be the first team to score when Matt Adams (Slippery Rock) hit an RBI infield single to short, stopped by a diving A.J. Rusbarsky (Seton Hall University) to prevent another run from scoring. The Dukes would give starter Alex MacKenzie (Canisius) a 1-0 lead to take into the second inning.
MacKenzie was effective through the first three innings holding the Silkworms scoreless on two hits. He also had five strikeouts through three innings but struggled in the 4th when Manchester would take the lead. Back to back RBI singles from Ryan Piacentini (Army) and Rusbarsky would put the Silkworms ahead two to one.
Manchester would add to the lead in the fifth inning with two more runs as the Dukes committed two errors in the inning. The Silkworms would score another run in the seventh inning as Craig Hertler (San Jose State) would commit his second and third errors of the game, giving Manchester the 5-1 advantage.
James Kukucka (Eastern Connecticut State University) struggled in the first inning against the Dukes but settled down after that. The right-handed pitcher would set down 13 hitters in a row at one point, holding the Dukes to one run through six innings.
Kukucka retired Jason Krizan (Dallas Baptist) to start the 7th inning, but six straight Dukes hits off three separate pitchers would Pittsfield back in front. After walking in the Pittsfield Fourth of July parade earlier in the day in their camouflage jerseys, the Dukes still had a little left in the tank for the seventh inning.
Adams would end the run of 13 straight hitters retired with a solo home run out to center field. It was the third home run of the season for Adams and the blast closed the gap to three runs. Five singles followed the home run to tie the game at five. Hertler's two run single tied it, then manager Mike Marron called for a suicide squeeze and J.T. Musso's (BYU) bunt would score Jason Martin (San Jose State) to give Pittsfield the 6-5 lead. The Dukes would send nine hitters to the plate in the inning in which they score five runs.
Manchester would threaten in the eight inning off Dukes reliever Luke Mazzanti (San Jose State). In his second inning of work, Mazzanti got into a jam and left with runners on first and third and one out. Marron called on closer Zach Anderson (Buffalo) to get out of the jam, and he did just that.
With the infield in, Sean O'Hara (Harvard) hit a grounder to third, and Jayson Langfels (Eastern Kentucky) threw home to Musso who tagged out Michael Gallic (Marist College) for the second out. After intentionally walking Chris Affinito (Seton Hall) to load the bases with two outs, Anderson got Jeff Cammans (University of Rhode Island) to fly out to center to end the inning.
The Dukes would go scoreless in the eighth and Anderson would pitch a one, two, three ninth inning, retiring Michael Bourdon (Fairfield University) who went 4 for 5 to leadoff the inning.
Pittsfield would win the game 6-5 in those same camouflage jerseys in front of 4,218 fans at Historic Wahconah Park. Fans were then treated to a fireworks show after the game sponsored by Berkshire Bank.
The Pittsfield Dukes improve to 10-10 on the season to take sole possession of second place. The Dukes will continue their scheduled five-game homestand with the Newport Gulls visiting Saturday for a 7 o'clock contest. Fans will also be treated to a fireworks extravaganza after the game sponsored by the Dan Duquette Sports Academy. Michael Ness (Duke) is 3-1 on the season with a 0.72 ERA, and is slated as the probable starter.
With the loss, the Silkworms drop to 9-11 on the season and have lost three of the last four games between the two teams. Manchester will travel to North Adams on Saturday and play the SteepleCats in a 7 o'clock game at Joe Wolfe Field. Nick Noblit (American International) is 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA and is listed as the probable starter.
Tickets are still available for Saturday's Dukes game against the Gulls. Box seats and general admission seats are still available but are going quick as well. July 5th is also Pajamas Night at Wahconah Park. Come to the game in your PJ's and get in for free. Tickets can be purchased by stopping by the Dukes' box office at 105 Wahconah Street or by calling the front office at 413-447-DUKE (3853).
