Zack Thompson struck out 9 Jaguars in 6.0 inningsSenior Zack Thompson (Salem, MA) pitched effectively as he allowed the Jaguars to just three runs over his six innings of work while striking out nine.
Houston-Victoria would strike first in the bottom half of the second inning. After the first two batters were retired, UHV got back to back hits to put runners at first and second. The next batter then laced a double down the left field line that plated both runners and give UHV the early 2-0 lead. Fisher would battle back in the top of the third. They got a RBI single from junior Reynaldo Nunez (Santiago, Dominican Republic) that scored senior Alfredo Torres (Lawrence, MA) to cut the lead in half. UHV then added a run in bottom half of the third and the scored would remain 3-1 until the sixth.
Nunez and freshman Denon Rushing (Palmdale, CA) would begin the frame with a pair of walks. Freshman Dave Ferreira (Saugus, MA) then placed a sacrifice bunt back to the pitcher and reached when the throw to third was not in time. With the bases loaded and one out, Fisher College Head Coach Scott Dulin called upon freshman Sebastiano Petruzzelli (Saugus, MA) to pinch hit. Petruzzelli got credit for a RBI as we walked on a full count. With the score now 3-2, sophomore Gary Lunetta (North Andover, MA) stepped up to the plate. He reached first on yet another walk, that plated Rushing to tie the game at three. Up stepped junior Jose Rodriguez (Clermont, FL). Rodriguez singled through the left side of the infield and two more Falcons crossed the plate to make it a 5-3 game.
Senior Rob Mondello (Haverhill, MA) was summonded from the bullpen to begin the seventh. He gave up back to back hits and then a sacrifice fly. Just like that UHV was one run away from tying the game and had a runner on base. Coach Dulin came out and made a call to the bullpen. Senior Patrick Shanahan (Haverhill, MA) came on and closed the door in the seventh. He promptly struck out the first batter he faced then issued a walk to the next. With the tying just 180 feet away at second base, Shanahan fired three blazing fastballs by the next hitter to end the threat.
UHV would tie the game in the eighth when the leadoff hitter lifted the first pitch he saw from Shanahan up into the wind. The ball landed on the other side of the fence for a solo home run and the scored was once again tied, this time at five.
Now it is time for the craziest inning of the game, the ninth. With one out, Torres singled up the middle. Senior Juan Eusebio (Union City, NJ) was then inserted as a pinch runner. Senior Edwin Pena (Union City, NJ) lifted a fall ball down the right field line. The wind got a hold of it and it appeared to hit the foul pole and give the Falcons a 7-5 lead. After a discussion between the umpires, they deemed it a foul ball. Pena would then reach base due to a fielding error by the UHV third basemen. After a fly ball to deep right field from Nunez, Eusebio tagged and advanced to third. With runners on the corners and two away, sophomore Richie Welch (Everett, MA) broke for second base early, a designed first-and-third play. The Jaguar pitcher then threw the ball over the second basemen's head into right field. Eusebio would score and give the Falcons a 6-5 lead.
In the home half of the ninth, Shanahan walked the lead off batter. He then proceed to strikeout the next hitter for the first out. The third batter of the inning then hit a ground ball to freshman shortstop Jose Paulino (Lawrence, MA) would couldn't handle the tough hop and UHV had first and third with one out. Shanahan got into a grove and overpowered the following hitter, striking him out on just three pitches. With two outs and two stikes, the UHV hitter hit a 1-2 slider into shallow right-center field. The centerfielder Rodriguez dove but it was just out of his reach and the tying run scored. Defensive replacement freshman Bobby Ellard (Medfield, MA) picked the ball up and threw it home to try and keep the game tied. However, the UHV runner was a step to quick as he slid in just before Pena could apply the tag and Houston-Victoria went on to win in a thriller by a final score of 7-6.
Fisher College concludes the Texas Spring Break trip with a 6-6 record and now have an overall record of 6-10 on the 2010 season. Fisher will return to Boston on Sunday afternoon and prepare for next weekend's trip to Adrian, Michigan where they will take on Sienna Heights University in a five game set. Game one is scheduled for Friday afternoon at 3pm.
Game Notes: Torres was 3-for-5 on the night with a run scored and Rodriguez went 2-for-5 with two runs batted in. Also Thompson and Shanahan combined to strike out 15 Jaguars in their 8.1 innings of work (Shanahan struck out six in his 2.1 innings).
