| Matt Consigli is the first
Becker player to hit for a cycle in program
history. Becker athletics photo |
Each team came within one out of clinching victory before the other rallied to tie the score and extend the game. Becker went into the ninth with a 10-5 lead, but Lesley fought back with five runs—all with two outs—to stay alive. After the Lynx went up 12-10 in the 10th, the Hawks were down to their final out when Matt Consigli (Whitinsville, Mass./Northbridge) hit a two-run homer to tie it up once again.
Becker loaded the bases with one out in the 11th,
and Lesley brought two outfielders into the infield to try and cut
the winning run down at the plate. TJ Sempkowski (Oceanport,
N.J./Shore) then put a ball into play that was mishandled on the
left side of the infield and allowed the winning run to
score.
The home run by Consigli completed the cycle for the junior
slugger, who went 4-for-4 on the day with five RBI and three runs
scored. Consigli—who also singled in the third, tripled in
the fifth and doubled in the eighth—becomes the first Becker
player to ever hit for the cycle.
Lesley's Kevin Hopwood (Winter Haven, Fla./Lake Region) also
had a monster day at the plate, finishing 6-for-6 with three
doubles, an RBI and two runs scored. Ryan Genua (Prospect,
Conn./Woodland) went 3-for-6 with two doubles and Joe Muratore
(Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck) added two hits and drove in
four.
The game went back and forth in the early innings. The Lynx
took a 2-0 lead in the first thanks to a two-run homer by David
Hersey (Wolfeboro, N.H./Kingswood), but the lead didn't last long
as the Hawks struck for three in the home half of the frame.
Lesley tied the game at 3-3 in the third on an RBI double by
Hopwood. The Lynx then went back on top with a run in the fifth
when Robert Parson (Commack, N.Y./Commack) went from first to third
on a sacrifice bunt and scored on an errant throw.
Becker scored three in the fifth to pull ahead 6-4. Consigli
delivered a two-run triple while Mike Marcello (West Haven,
Conn./West Haven) added an RBI single. The Hawks then put up three
more runs in the sixth on a two-run single by Chris Flanders
(Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) and a sacrifice fly by Consigli,
and a solo homer by Randall Minogue (North Kingstown, R.I./North
Kingstown) to lead off the seventh extended the lead to 10-4.
The Lynx pushed across a run in the eighth on an RBI single by
Muratore but still trailed by five heading into the ninth. Lesley
loaded the bases with only one out, but reliever Tony Cantalupo (De
Pere, Wisc./West De Pere) came in and struck out the first batter
he faced to bring the Lynx to their final out. However, Lesley
strung together back-to-back singles to plate two runs before
Muratore doubled to the fence in right to clear the bases and tie
the game at 10-10.
Parson led off the Lesley 10th with a triple and
scored on a single through the left side of the infield by Casey
Blanchard (Bernardston, Mass./Pioneer Valley). Plourd later added a
sacrifice fly to score Blanchard from third to give the Lynx a
12-10 cushion.
Sempkowski doubled to lead off the Becker 11th and
set the stage for Consigli's heroics. The blast over the left field
fence was his second long ball of the season.
Becker's Jason Silbor (Uxbridge, Mass./Uxbridge) picked up the
win in relief, going 2.0 innings while allowing two runs on four
hits. Starter Nick Lemay (Oxford, Mass./Oxford) went 8.0 innings
and yielded five runs (four earned) on nine hits and struck out
eight.
Hopwood, who took the mound for the Lynx in the
12th, suffered the loss. Starting pitcher Ray Cohen
(Coventry, Conn./Coventry) lasted 6.0 innings and gave up nine runs
(seven earned) on seven hits and struck out eight while walking
six.