WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Dickinson baseball was back in action on Sunday afternoon with a non-conference doubleheader against Wesleyan University out of Connecticut. The Red and White used a strong performance in relief from
Nolan Ross in Game One to notch an 8-4 win, before taking advantage of some timely offense to erase a 10-0 hole en route to a 14-10 victory in the nightcap at Chain of Lakes Park.
Game One
Final Score – DEVILS 8, Cardinals 4
Team Records – DEVILS (6-4) | Wesleyan (0-2)
Pitching Decision – W –
Nolan Ross (2-1) | L – Shamus Kelly (0-1)
Inside the Game
- Dickinson got on the board right away as a leadoff walk to Josh Markley provided the opportunity for Kevin Schmidt to pick up an RBI single to center off of Kelly for the 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, strikeouts of Johnny Bruno and Kyle Bailey quashed any thoughts of a bigger rally. Drew Norton took the ball for the Red and White and used two strikeouts and a pop-up to put away the Cards in the first.
- It would become 2-0 during the top of the second when with one down Luke Gartland was hit by a pitch and took second on a balk. The next man into the box was Ethan Sodl and he reached on an error to drive home Gartland. The bottom of the frame saw Wesleyan crack the scoreboard using two walks and a single the bases were stuffed for Matthew DeBenedictis with one away. He lifted the Norton offering to left plating the man from third. An inning later the Cards were even at 2-2 thanks to a pair of walks and a DC miscue.
- With the score tied in the top of the fourth, a walk to John Kumpa and Gartland plunked by a pitch put two on with two away. That sent Markley to the dish and he ripped a two-run single into center field giving the Devils a 4-2 lead. New arm Nolan Ross then went out to the mound and recorded a massive shutdown frame to preserve the advantage.
- Neither team could put anything together in the fifth and sixth leaving the score still 4-2 heading to the final inning. A single by Dylan Posencheg and two-bagger for Schmidt had a pair in scoring position with no one out. Bruno and Bailey then provided back-to-back RBIs to make it 6-2. Kumpa followed with an RBI groundout and Freeman Hunt pushed one more across giving the Devils an 8-2 lead entering the home-half. A single, double and triple in consecutive at-bats resulted in two scoring for the Cards, before Ross recorded back-to-back strikeouts ending the game.
Dickinson Hitting Leaders
- Hits – Schmidt (2), Five players tied (1)
- RBIs – Markley (2), Five players tied (1)
- Runs Scored – Gartland (2), Six players tied (1)
- Doubles – Schmidt and Sodl (1)
Devils Mound Report
- Norton – 2.2 ip, 2 runs (earned), 1 hit, 6 walks, 4 strikeouts
- Ross (W) – 4.1 ip, 2 runs (earned), 4 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts
Game Two
Final Score – DEVILS 14, Cardinals 10 (F/6)
Team Records – DEVILS (7-4) | Wesleyan (0-3)
Pitching Decision – W –
Michael Niszczak (1-0) | L – Dariusz Lukowski (0-1)
Inside the Game
- Pitching was in control for the first two innings as starters Ben Myers and James Marsden kept things scoreless as the game moved into the third.
- However, that was when things took a turn as three doubles, two singles and a pair of walks led to six men coming in to score for Wesleyan and forcing Myers from the game departing with a man at second and one down. Ryan Stover then entered and allowed two free passes along with two more singles to make the margin 10-0 going to the last of the inning.
- Dickinson responded in a big way as Conor Humowiecki went to the bump for Marsden and started out seemingly well getting Posencheg on strikes, but the batter reached on a wild pitch. He then issued walks to Bruno, Schmidt and Gartland to score one. JD Stemhagen and Hunt produced RBI appearances at the dish cutting the margin to 10-4 still with one on. A walk drawn by Matt Conforti followed by a fielder's choice for Ben Milligan scored the fifth of the frame. An RBI knock from Markley and a hit batter would chase Humowiecki. The next man out of the pen was Sebastian Fuentes, who was greeted with an RBI base hit off the stick of Schmidt making it 10-7 with the bags loaded. A pair of wild pitches unleashed by Fuentes resulted in two more men coming home for the Red and White trimming the gap to just one (10-9) at the end of a crazy third.
- Stover allowed a single during the visitors portion of the fourth, but worked around it to keep the score where it was. Conforti opened the Devils attack by being hit by a pitch, before a strikeout and sacrifice bunt left a man at third with two gone. Posencheg then came up with an RBI infield hit tying the game after four.
- In the top of the sixth, a leadoff single was erased on a double-play induced by Stover. Jonah Timmons then doubled to center leading to Stover being removed for Michael Niszczak. He walked the first man he faced, before fanning Marcus Jang to retire the side. Milligan opened up the home-half with a walk, followed by both Will Ferris and Markley reaching on errors to load the bags for Schmidt. He came up with the biggest swing of the game knocking a two-run single to right. Shawn Arneja sacrificed Schmidt to second placing two in scoring position with one away. Gartland lifted the pitch into center driving home Ferris and Stemhagen produced a single to left making it 14-10.
- Niszczak posted two strikeouts and a flyout in the seventh to end the game.
Dickinson Hitting Leaders
- Hits – Schmidt and Stemhagen (2), Markley and Posencheg (1)
- RBIs – Schmidt (3), Gartland, Hunt and Stemhagen (2)
- Runs Scored – Schmidt (3), Markley, Milligan, and Posencheg (2)
Devils Mound Report
- Myers – 2.1 ip, 7 runs (6 earned), 6 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts
- Stover – 3.1 ip, 3 runs (2 earned), 5 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts
- Niszczak (W) – 1.1 ip, 0 runs, 0 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
The On-Deck Circle
- Dickinson (7-4) continues their Florida swing on Thursday with a non-conference doubleheader against the University of Rochester. Game one is slated for 9:30 am at Chain of Lakes Park.
