The Justice

Media Credit: David Sheppard-Brick Catcher Artie Posch '10, standing on home plate, fields a relay throw during the baseball team's 8-1 loss to Wheaton College last Tuesday.

With the baseball team clinging to a 9-8 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth last Saturday, rookie reliever Pat Nicholson '11 faced a bases-loaded situation with two outs. In just his second save situation of his collegiate career, Nicholson extinguished the comeback attempt, striking out sophomore left fielder Tom Ladore with the count at two balls and two strikes.

"You have to focus on one goal-get the batter out and just take it from there," Nicholson said. "[Catcher Artie Posch '10] called an outside fastball, and I was just looking to get the ball a little bit off the plate and make sure that [Ladore] couldn't get a base hit off it."

Nicholson then sent UMass-Dartmouth down in order in the bottom of the ninth, earning his second save and preserving the Judges' 9-8 win. They are now 7-4 this season, including an 11-7 victory at Salve Regina University last Thursday and an 8-1 loss to Wheaton College last Tuesday. Last Friday's home game against Albertus Magnus College was postponed with no makeup date presently scheduled.

After the Judges scored three runs on 11 total hits in losses to Salem State College last Tuesday and Wheaton last Wednesday, they exploded for 20 runs and 23 hits combined against Salve Regina and UMass-Dartmouth.

"I think the difference in the last two games compared to the first two games [last week] was that guys are just swinging the bat," assistant coach Bryan Lambert '05 said. "In the first two games too many guys were taking too many pitches that they probably should have swung at."

UMass-Dartmouth erased a 4-1 deficit and led 5-4 after five innings, but aided by designated hitter Nick Gallagher's '09 two RBIs, the Judges scored the next five runs to take a 9-5 lead after the eighth inning. With the count at zero balls and two strikes with two outs and runners on second and third base in the top of the eighth inning, Gallagher's line drive ricocheted off the pitcher and trickled between the pitcher's mound, first base and second base, allowing Gallagher to reach safely and shortstop Malcolm Cone-Coleman '08 and Nicholson to score. Left fielder David Almeida '09 then reached base on an error, and Gallagher came around to score to provide the 9-5 margin.

Continued...

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