AUBURNDALE, Fla.—There was no shortage of fireworks on day one for the Gordon Baseball program as both games of a doubleheader with Keene State were ended with a walk-off. Gordon dropped a heartbreaker in the opener 9-8 in nine innings, only to come back with a walk-off two-run homer from sophomore Alec Willey (San Diego, Calif.) to beat the Owls 8-7 in the nightcap.
Game One
Dean Demers (Sandy Hook, Conn.) began his senior season the way he ended his junior year—on fire. Playing first base in the opener, Demers put the Fighting Scots on the scoreboard in the third inning with a two-out double to bring in Willey and rookie Morgan Hyde (Thomson, Ga.).
The Owls got one back in the bottom of the third, doing all their damage with two outs. Gordon starter Matt Amore (Pequannock, N.J.) was almost out of the inning, but gave up a triple to Mac Struthers (Strafford, N.H.). Struthers then scored on a wild pitch before Amore could record the final out of the inning.
Gordon added two more to its lead in the top of the fourth as Christian Hodge (Waltham, Mass.) and freshman John Lagerfeldt (Stratford, Conn.) rapped a pair of singles to score a run. After Lagerfeldt plated Hodge, he scored on a double from Matt Moffat (Stratford, Conn.) to give the Fighting Scots a comfier lead.
The Fighting Scots were not done on offense, putting three more on the board in the fifth to take a commanding advantage at 7-1. Addison Tarr (Oxnard, Calif.), Hodge and Lagerfeldt juiced the bases with a walk and two hit by pitch plays, allowing Travis Benoit (Worcester, Mass.) to usher them all home with a bases clearing double with two outs.
Gordon carried their six-run advantage into the sixth when things turned in a hurry. The first two Owls earned walks and then a combination of a wild pitch and a balk brought in Keene's second run of the game. The second runner eventually scored on a wild pitch as well to make it 7-3.
With two outs in the inning, Keene State's bats came alive to knock another three runs off the deficit. Senior Robbie Hamilton (Windham, Maine) triple to score a run, while Tom Meucci (Newington, Conn.) and Struthers each came up with a big single to score a run.
The Owls led off the bottom of the seventh with a pair of singles, one of which would tie the game on a sacrifice fly by Steven Martel (E. Hartford, Conn).
Both teams threatened to score in the eighth, but to no avail. However, Gordon freshman Lagerfeldt and Hyde helped tack on the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth with the latter hitting a timely RBI triple.
After not getting the leadoff guy on base for the first five innings, Keene State was able to do so in each of the final four. Martel tied the game in the ninth with a double and scored the game-winning run on a single by Connor Longley (Foxboro, Mass.).
Keene State outhit the Scots in the opener 12-11, but 10 of those came after Gordon had gotten two outs in the sixth. Demers led all players with three hits.
Amore struckout a game-high seven batters, but got the no-decision.
Game Two
Another offensive showdown transpired in the final game of the doubleheader as Demers got the Fighting Scots on the board in the bottom of the first with a single.
Keene State doubled in two runs in the third inning to take a lead, only for Gordon to get RBI singles from Matt Lucas (Temecula, Calif.) and Chris Leavitt (E. Bridgewater, Mass.) to reclaim the lead at 3-2 in the fifth.
The sixth inning was kind to the Owls for the second consecutive game. After they tied the game on a double from Kolby Reggione (Pomfret, Conn.), a Gordon error plated two runs on one play to suddenly make it a 5-3 game.
Gordon countered right back. Hodge porched one to lead off the bottom half of the sixth, followed by a Lucas triple. The freshman first baseman scored just a moment later on a wild pitch to even the game at five. The Fighting Scots were able to play some small ball with singles from Hyde and Willey, as well as a walk taken by Demers to load the bases with only one out. Leavitt obliged with a sacrifice fly to dead center to give Gordon a one-run lead.
Once again, Keene State spoiled Gordon's thoughts of victory with a run in the seventh to send the game to extras.
The Owls looked in prime position for the sweep with an RBI-triple in the top of the eighth, but Willey had other ideas. Hyde reached on an error by the Owl infield and Willey made them pay for the mistake with a long ball to effectively end the game.
Senior Jameson Boyd (Phoenix, Ariz.) got the victory with one inning of relief. Derek Hudson (Hudson, N.H.) got the no decision with three K's in five and two thirds innings. Willey added three hits to tie Demers with four on the afternoon.
Up Next:
Gordon is right back at it tomorrow morning with a doubleheader against King's College (Pa.), starting at 9 a.m.
