Box Score
The Wilkes University baseball team hosted Freedom Conference opponent FDU-Florham on Friday, competing in a nine inning single game, the first of three that the two teams would play in the weekend. In the late innings, FDU was able to put together multiple hits, ultimately winning 9-5.
Wilkes came into the game with a 4-6 (0-3) record, while the Devils were 8-3 (1-1) before the contest began.
On the mound to start the game for the Colonels was
Tom Buckler (Plains, Pa./Coughlin), who took down the Devils in order in the first inning. The Colonels got a base runner in the form of
Matt Ruch (Dallas, Pa./Holy Redeemer ) in the bottom of the frame, but a quick double play by the Devils took away any scoring opportunity.
FDU struck in the top of the second, as an early triple was scored on a single to right field, giving the Devils an early 1-0 lead. In the top of the third the Devils had two on with one out, but a quick double play turned by
Mike McAndrew (Avoca, Pa./Pittston Area) and
Carmen Lopresto (Pittston, PA/Pittston Area) ended the threat.
In the bottom of the third,
Scott Skammer (Dallas, PA/Dallas) led off with a single to right, giving the Colonels an early base runner. After being sacrificed over to second, Wilkes was unable to drive him home, ending the innings still down by one.
Over the next few innings, good pitching combined with solid defense prevented either team from manufacturing a run, and after six innings played the Devils still clung to a 1-0 lead.
In the top of the seventh a hit-and-run double by the Devils led to a score, pushing their lead to two. That hit was followed up by a single to right, leading to another run. The Colonels then turned a double play to end the top of the inning.
Wilkes got its leadoff runner on in the bottom of the frame, as
Randy Dengler (Ashland, Pa./Tri-Valley ) hit a first pitch fastball to left field. After an
Al Clocker (Swoyersville/Wyoming Valley West) walk and a
Rich Cosgrove (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Myers H.S.) single, the bases were loaded for the Colonels with no one out, and
Carmen Lopresto (Pittston, PA/Pittston Area) hit a sacrifice fly to right, giving Wilkes its first run on the contest. Then
Scott Skammer (Dallas, PA/Dallas) hit into a fielder's choice, scoring Clocker from third and narrowing the deficit to one run.
In the eighth, FDU took advantage of an early Colonel error, scoring on a fielder's choice and pushing its lead to two. After two more hits, the Devils tacked on another run, forcing a Wilkes pitching change. The Devils drove in two more runs before the Colonels finally ended the inning, down 7-2.
Wilkes led off the bottom of the eighth with two hits, and with two outs Cosgrove hit a triple to right field, scoring two runs and narrowing the deficit to three. In the top of the ninth, the Devils tacked on two more runs, making the score 9-4. Wilkes had the opportunity to rally in the ninth, but came up short, falling 9-5.
The Devils had 17 hits in the game, but it was the errors in the late innings that really cost the Colonels, who had nine hits on the day.
The Colonels will have an opportunity to bounce back when they take on FDU-Florham away from home on Saturday, March 27. The first game will begin at 1:00 p.m.
