Ethan Lynch (35) winds and fires home a pitch during his eight-strikeout performance against Dedham on Thursday. Photo by Mike Flanagan.
By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Despite starting the season 1-8, the Dover-Sherborn High School varsity baseball amazingly entered last Thursday's game against Dedham with the chance to still finish the regular season at .500 with three games to go.
In recent weeks, the Raiders (5-8) have been scorching hot, tallying four consecutive wins (Holliston - 7-4, Ashland - 12-10, Norton - 12-6 and Millis - 6-5). Making the win streak even more impressive is that the Raiders have been without senior captain and catcher Michael Gilio (mononucleosis) for its entirety.
With Gilio still out of the lineup on Friday and every game now a must-win, DS needed its pitching staff to step up in a big way against the Marauders (9-6).
Junior Ethan Lynch got the start for the Raiders. After surrendering a one-out walk, Lynch struck out the next man he faced, followed by an inning-ending fielder's choice to third.
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the second. Freshman Brian Olson led off the inning with a walk. Following a fly-out to center by Daniel Sullivan, Lynch and Derek Roman drew consecutive walks to load the bases. James Anastasopoulos hit into a fielder's choice at third base, but good hustle down the line allowed the freshman to beat the throw to first on the attempted double-play turn. Olson came home to score on the play to draw first blood for the Raiders.
Dedham rallied with a big inning in the top of the third. An error on a pick-off attempt with the bases loaded allowed the tying run to come across before Frankie DeSario smacked a two-RBI single to give the Marauders a 3-1 lead.
The score remained 3-1 in favor of Dedham until the bottom of the fourth. Derek Roman was hit by a pitch, stole second, advanced to third on a fielder's choice and then came around to score on a wild throw on a pick-off attempt, trimming the deficit to 3-2.
Lynch continued to deal for DS and helped keep the game at 3-2. After recording his eighth strikeout of the afternoon, Dedham was finally able to chase Lynch from the game with one out in the top of the seventh. An infield single by Jack Barrett was followed by an RBI double into the left-centerfield gap by Matt Ryan. DS was able to get out of the inning only surrendering one run, but it turned out to be the difference in the game.
The Raiders were able to load the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, thanks to a walk to Lynch and back-to-back singles by Leo Pucci and Curtis Bowman. Oliver Ferrari drew a walk to force home Lynch and make it a one-run game. Dedham then turned to Dagen Darnell to come on and attempt to record the final out and the save. Darnell got the job done with authority, striking out Olson on four high-velocity fastballs to earn the save and give his team the 4-3 victory.
For funny and incisive sports analysis as well as video highlights of games, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter and Instagram handles @flano0.
