The Suffolk University Baseball team dropped their third game in a row falling to Rowan College, 11-8 on Monday afternoon. The Rams scored all of their runs in the final three frames of the game and left the tying run on deck despite getting off to a slow start offensively.
Rowan starter Jeff White was able to keep the Rams at bay allowing eight hits through seven innings of work while striking out seven. Suffolk was able to take advantage of the Rowan bullpen banging out 10 hits in the last three innings.
Senior Mark Annese (Winchester, Mass.) connected on a bases-loaded double to get the Rams going in the bottom half of the eighth. Annese crushed a fastball deep into the left centerfield gap plating two runs, followed by an RBI-single by freshman Jhonneris Mendez (Boston, Mass.). Annese sprinted home later in the inning on a passed ball to cut the lead to 10-5.
Freshman Chris Stanley (Orange County, Calif.) connected on an RBI-single in the ninth to get the Rams offense going once again. Stanley finished the game singling in both his plate appearances after entering the game in the seventh inning as a defensive replacement. Annese would come to bat later in the ninth, knocking home another Rams’ run on a groundout. Mendez followed that singling up the middle with two outs knocking in another run to keep the Rams rally alive.
Annese, Mendez, Stanley and junior Eric Del Buono (Westfield, Mass.) all had a pair of hits for Suffolk, who had 15 total as a team in the game.
Rowan’s offense was equally impressive with the bats as they banged out 22 hits in the game.
Rowan’s big inning came in the fourth as they scored four times. The big blow came off the bat of Matt Johanson who hit a towering two-run homer to left. The Owls also got RBI-doubles that inning by Matt Citro and Nick Tunaro.
Scott Weaver finished the game 4-for-6 for the Owls, who had seven players finish the game with multiple hits.
The Rams will take Tuesday off before starting the second half of their spring trip on Wednesday as they take on Ripon College (WI) at 3:30pm.