M-A took down the Sacred Heart Gators in dominant fashion, winning 10-0 and improving their overall record to 8-4 on the season on Wednesday afternoon.
Senior pitcher Jack Molise wasted no time establishing his presence on the mound, striking out the first three hitters of the game and gathering his first of nine on the day. With the Bears back in the dugout, senior first baseman Jimmy Zaharias got the bats going early by roping a two out single. Unfortunately for the bears, Zaharias was left stranded at first and the score remained knotted at 0-0.
The Gators continued to have no answers for Molise, only mustering a measly groundout to second base before returning to the field once again.
“I was just throwing my two-seam [fastball] the whole time and my sliders were working for a strikeout pitch,” Molise said.
The second inning marked an explosion of offense for the Bears with junior catcher Jack Wilbanks getting the party started with a single hammered to right field. Capitalizing on the opportunity, senior center fielder Ronan Cutright immediately followed by blasting a triple to the warning track and putting the Bears up 1-0. Junior third baseman Masa Shudo added to the excitement with a line drive to right field for a double. Sophomore right fielder Merrick Lee followed with a double of his own to put the Bears ahead 3-0.
Molise’s lights out performance continued in the third with yet another quick one, two, three inning.
“Molise on the bump, absolute dog. Seven inning shutout and one hit, I loved seeing that. He’s the reason why we won,” junior second baseman Ryder Kelly said.
Back on offense, senior outfielder David Lopez opened the inning with a hit-by-pitch. A fielder’s choice and stolen base advanced Lopez all the way to third. Wilbanks sacrificed with a bunt that allowed Lopez to score, putting the Bears up 4-0.
The Gators struggled on offense after yet another quick three outs, leaving the Bears energized going into the bottom of the inning. Straightaway, Lee drew a four pitch walk. Kelly swiftly followed with a shot to left field for a two-run homerun, extending the Bears lead to 6-0.
“I got ahead in the count, and he wasn’t throwing strikes. Then he left one over the middle, and I just turned on it,” Kelly said.
Lopez followed by belting a line drive single to center field, however, the Gators promptly responded by turning a double play and ending the inning.
Numerous walks and additional hits from Zaharias and Willbanks further extended the Bears lead to 10-0. While the Gators attempted to mount a comeback in the top of the seventh, Molise’s dominance on the mound promptly ended the game in a 10-0 Bears victory.
The Bears prepare for a rematch with Sacred Heart away at 6:30 on Friday.
