In the opening game of the Commonwealth Coast Conference baseball tournament, Suffolk University baseball blew out the Wentworth Institute of Technology at East Boston Memorial Park May 7. The Rams won with a 12-3 score thanks to nine unanswered runs.
The win keeps the Rams unbeaten at home in the CCC playoffs with a 3-0 record as they won their first ever meeting with the Leopards. Suffolk has outscored the Leopards 31-8 over three meetings this season.
After the Rams jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, the Leopards got a run back in the second after two Suffolk errors and an RBI single. Third baseman Alex Sorenti-Burns got the run back in the fifth for the Rams, hitting a solo home run to left field to make it a 3-1 game.
According to Sorenti-Burns, the home run was extra sweet after what Wentworth pitcher Brodi Farinas had done earlier.
“I personally felt disrespected by what the other pitcher was saying to our dugout, and I blacked out around the bases,” said Sorenti-Burns. “He threw me a curveball and I knew it was gone right off the bat.”
In the sixth inning, Wentworth tied the game 3-3 on a two-run home run from designated hitter Michael Petit. It didn’t take long for the Rams to provide an answer.
Sorenti-Burns came up big for the Rams in their half of the sixth inning. With the bases loaded, he laced a triple down the right field line to score all three runners and put the Rams back in front by a 6-3 score.
The Rams broke the game wide-open in the seventh inning. With the bases loaded again, Garret Roberts helped the Rams score another run with a hit-by-pitch. That brought senior infielder Jonny Gilbride to the plate. The shortstop delivered with a grand slam over the left field wall, making the score 11-3.
Gilbride wasn’t sure as he was rounding the bases what had just happened.
“I thought it was off the wall,” he said. “But I didn’t know, so I just kept running. Might as well sell it.”
Gilbride and Sorenti-Burns were the stars at the plate for the Rams, as Gilbride went three-for-six at the dish with five RBIs and Sorenti-Burns turned in a three-for-three performance with four RBIs as he ended the day a double shy of the cycle.
Gilbride also made team history with his performance. He scored his 50th run of the season and surpassed 50 RBIs on the year, becoming just the second player in team history to have at least 50 runs scored and 50 RBIs in a single season.
To head coach Anthony Del Prete, the big days were no surprise.
“Jonny’s been our most consistent guy from the start. He’s been a great leader for us, a tone setter and it’s no surprise. The bigger the game, the better he plays. When he hit that grand slam and broke the game open it was no surprise,” said Del Prete. “Alex has been our energy guy. He’s been a great addition for our team in terms of what he brings to the table in terms of his competitiveness, his energy, his toughness and his ability to get on base and drive in runs.”
Junior Pierce Salbego was the starting pitcher for the Rams in the playoff opener. He allowed three runs on five hits, not allowing any walks and striking out two hitters. Jack Raimo pitched the final two innings and struck out two hitters.
“In the first inning I was very anxious, I was throwing all over the place, got into a couple full counts,” said Salbego. “I didn’t want to do that because I wanted to go deep because we got a lot of young guys on the staff, so I wanted to throw strikes and let our defense make plays. It worked.”
Del Prete was equally impressed by his start and had plans for Salbego to keep pitching if the game was close in the eighth, despite his pitch count hovering around 100.
“He attacked the strike zone all day long. He didn’t fall behind many hitters,” said Del Prete. “He was good, he was executing multiple pitches, keeping the ball down and being efficient.”
The Rams stay in the tournament winners’ bracket with the victory. The three-seed Rams have a matchup with two-seed Roger Williams University set for 10 a.m. May 9. Following a win against the Hawks, the Rams would move on to play either top-seeded Endicott College or Western New England University the next day.
If they come up short against Roger Williams, Suffolk will play a second game 45 minutes after the conclusion of the Roger Williams game, an elimination game rematch against Wentworth, requiring a Rams win to stay in the tournament.
