Dukes win third straight
game with 8 unanswered runs
Michael Radomski
( PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – Mike
Woytek (Wright State) went eight innings for Pittsfield as the Dukes
came back from a 2-0 deficit against the North Adams SteepleCats for
an 8-2 victory.
Dukes starter Mike Woytek struggled in the first inning as North
Adams would take the early 2-0 lead. The SteepleCats would stage
four straight hits including RBI singles from both Jonathan Smith
(Niagara University) and Ryan Delgado (Chaffey College).
Pittsfield would answer back with a run off of SteepleCat starter,
and former Duke, Mitch Clegg (UMASS). An RBI single from Chris
Edmondson (Le Moyne) closed the gap to just one run in the bottom
half.
In the second inning, Woytek allowed another two hits but was able
to keep North Adams scoreless in the inning and the rest of the way.
Pittsfield tied the game in the third inning and took the lead in
the fifth with an RBI single from Jayson Langfels (Eastern Kentucky)
on one of his three hits on the night.
In the meantime, Woytek settled down and held North Adams to just
two hits over the final six innings. Pittsfield would give Woytek
the lead for good in the sixth inning.
In the inning, the first six hitters would reach base for the Dukes,
five against Clegg before he was taken out of the game. Four
straight singles including an RBI single from Domenic DiRicco
(Cornell) and birthday boy Jason Martin (San Jose State) gave
Pittsfield the 5-2 lead. Craig Hertler (San Jose State) then reached
on an error by Greg Van Horn (Brookdale CC) as another run would
come around to score.
Sean Parker (Central CT State) then entered the game and Langfels
met the right-hander with a two run single to give Pittsfield the
8-2 lead. The Dukes third baseman finished three for four in the
game with 3 RBIs.
Woytek retired nineteen of the final twenty batters that he faced in
earning his second victory of the season. Jake Sabol (Central
Michigan) pitched the final inning and set down the SteepleCats in
order to even up the Battle of the Berkshires at two games apiece.
With the win, the Dukes improve to 22-12 on the season and stand two
games above the Newport Gulls for first place in the Southern
Division. Pittsfield will continue the homestand tomorrow afternoon
when the Dukes play host to the two-time NECBL reigning champion
Vermont Mountaineers in a five o’clock contest. Adam Knight (Georgia
State) will be on the mound for Pittsfield and it will be his first
appearance since he and Jack Bender (Georgetown) one-hit the
Manchester Silkworms last week.
North Adams drops to 16-21 on the season and they will play a
doubleheader tomorrow against the Danbury Westerners. Matt Sommo (Univ
of New Haven) will start the first game while teammate Craig Crumbly
(Florida Gulf Coast) will start game two.
The Pittsfield Dukes, Sim’s Barber Shop, and The Lester Project will
sponsor a “Strike Out Cancer night” at Wahconah Park on Sunday, July
27th, when the Dukes host the Vermont Mountaineers.
The gates at Wahconah Park will open at four o’clock and the game
will begin at five as two of the top teams in the NECBL meet on the
final weekend home game for Pittsfield.
There will be a silent auction with items being awarded to the top
bidders, as well as Lester Project bracelets, and Sim’s barbershop
haircuts as well.
GAME NOTES: First baseman/catcher Matt Adams (Slippery Rock) went 0
for 4 as his 16 game hitting streak was snapped. Adams was hitting
.543 during the stretch with ten doubles and four home runs….Third
baseman Jayson Langfels is now 5 for 8 with 4 runs batted in since
taking over the second slot in the lineup for J.T. Musso (BYU).
Langfels was 1 for his last 18 before being moved up in the lineup
to the number two hitter…Outfielder Domenic DiRicco (Cornell) is now
four for his last seven including two runs and two RBIs. DiRicco was
0 for his last 14 before the past two games….Dukes outfielder Jason
Martin turned twenty years old today and celebrated his birthday by
going 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI.
