As the ball came off Luke Thornton’s bat, settled into left field and his Suffolk University baseball teammates mobbed him in celebration at first base, the Rams celebrated what felt like a cathartic win after 21 innings of battle.
Thornton’s walk-off single in the 10th inning of the second game of the Rams’ March 28 doubleheader against Gordon College gave Suffolk win number two of the season and a split of the doubleheader against the Fighting Scots after losing the first game 5-3 earlier in the day.
“[The win] felt good,” said Thornton. “Trying to get the ball rolling here and start heading in the right direction, especially with conference play coming up.”
Suffolk sits at 2-14 to begin the season after the doubleheader split, a day that took 21 innings to conclude, with game one going 11 innings and game two lasting 10. Most of the season, the offense has done well but the pitching staff has stumbled. Today, it was a more balanced showing from the Rams, and the pitching was at the forefront of the conversation.
Ian Maude, one of the four pitchers used by the Rams on the day, credited the starting pitching of Anthony Ferreira in game one and Harry Meehan in game two for keeping Suffolk in both games all the way to the end.
“Shoutout to Anthony and Harry, they kept us in the game the entire way,” said Maude. “[Anthony] went nine, Harry went almost seven and I came in for him after. It’s just about throwing strikes and being effective.”
After the Rams took a 1-0 lead in game one, the Fighting Scots scored once in the fourth and twice in the fifth to take a 3-1 lead, getting some help from a fly ball that was hit near center fielder Colin Flynn that he couldn’t catch.
Suffolk fought back later in the game, scoring in the seventh on a single from Thornton. Flynn brought in the tying run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly, which ended up forcing extra innings. In the 11th, another lost fly ball in the air, this time from Jack Mihalchik in right field, brought in both Gordon baserunners to give them the lead and the win.
Ferreira pitched the first nine innings for the Rams, giving up three runs total, two of which were unearned. He struck out four hitters and walked just one, giving the Rams much-needed length in the game. Jack Raimo took the loss, allowing the final two runs in two innings pitched.
Game two started with the Fighting Scots taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning and the Rams answering with one run in the bottom half of the inning as Sam Armbruster scored on an error. Both teams scored again in the fourth, with Gordon plating a run on a groundout and Suffolk scoring on a double by Noah Greco.
In the ninth, Greco tied the game for Suffolk and forced extra innings with a groundout that scored Mike Mullaney. In the 10th, with Armbruster on first, Sebastian Lampert bunted back to Gordon pitcher Jacob Bettencourt, who threw the ball to second to try and get Armbruster. The ball instead sailed into center field and put Armbruster on third and Lampert on second, setting the stage for Thornton’s walk-off single.
Thornton’s approach was simple: don’t get out. Whether it was him winning the game himself or merely getting on base and leaving it to the next hitter, he wanted the game to end in the 10th.
“I was just thinking ‘do my job,’” said Thornton. “Either get [Armbruster] in or get the bat to the next guy, that was the goal of that at-bat.”
Meehan struck out eight Fighting Scots hitters and allowed three runs, two earned, on seven hits and four walks in 6.2 innings pitched. On came Maude in relief, who allowed just two baserunners in 3.1 innings out of the bullpen, forcing seven groundouts to keep the Gordon offense at bay.
Maude, who relies on an offspeed combination of a changeup, sinker and a newly introduced slider, felt good about the way the sinker and slider played against the Gordon lineup.
“[My best pitch was] definitely the sinker,” said Maude. “Being able to have confidence with it, get ahead in counts and go to the offspeed, the breaker and the changeup. Made sure the ball stayed low, got seven groundouts which kept us in the game.”
Up next for the Rams is a mid-week Conference of New England matchup against the Wentworth Institute of Technology on the road, facing the Leopards at 6:30 p.m. March 31 to start a mid-week stretch where they play three games in three days, with the Rams also facing Rivier University April 1 and Wheaton College April 2.
The Rams return home April 4 for a CNE doubleheader with Curry College. Game one against the Colonels is scheduled for 12 p.m. and game two is set for 3 p.m.
