By Paul Vozzella
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
Monday afternoon’s matchup against Norton left a lot of room for improvement as the Raiders lost 7-1 on the baseball diamond.
Norton plated five runs in the first four innings. Junior Jackson Shusda got the start on the mound for Dover-Sherborn and while he did not put on his best performance, luck was not on the team’s side either.
After Norton got out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, the second inning saw the Raiders’ opponents score a run on a shallow fly ball that fell in no-man’s-land between sophomore Luke Napoli at second base and junior Ronan Sullivan in right field.
The misfortune continued as Norton was able to drop a hit in the same exact spot the following inning and score another run to bring its lead to 3-0. It followed the hit with a single to center field to score another run.
Despite the tough start, Shusda lasted six innings, saving his team from running down the depth chart for pitching.
“He battled,” said head coach Steve Ryan.”I don't think he had his best stuff, but he's definitely a battler… When he [has his best stuff], he's electric.”
Offensively, the Raiders recorded four one-two-three innings throughout the game. Their lone run came on an RBI-single from Shusda. Will Forman tallied the run after walking, advancing to second base on a passed ball and stealing third base.
Although the Raiders did not have many baserunners, they found success when given the chances.
“We want to be aggressive on the base pass, so we just have to be on base more and we can take advantage of that,” said Forman.
The team’s first real threat came in the second inning as captain Theo Allan got an infield single and advanced to third base by way of an error and a steal. The Raiders would strand him there, however, with their next batter striking out.
The bottom of the fourth inning saw Dover-Sherborn’s series of unfortunate events continue as sophomore Matthew Bowen hit what looked like a no-doubt base knock into right-center field. Out of nowhere, Norton’s center fielder made a diving catch to rob Bowen of a hit.
The Raiders have a ten day break in their schedule before facing off against Sharon in a make-up game from earlier in the season. Forman kept his answer simple when asked about how his team can turn things back around.
“We need a better approach at the plate,” he said. “We have to have better energy up there and focus harder.”
With thirteen games left on the schedule, there is still plenty of time for Dover-Sherborn to steer its ship in the correct direction. It will face Norton again in the last game of the regular season.
