By Paul Vozzella
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
A last ditch effort was not enough for the Raiders to prevail against Medfield on Wednesday evening, leaving a question mark on a spot in the playoffs. The 2-1 loss pushes Dover-Sherborn’s record back to 9-8, with the team needing one more win to ensure postseason play.
On a quiet night at the plate, the Raiders almost completed a tremendous comeback in the seventh inning. Junior Ronan Sullivan walked up to the plate with his team down 2-0. A single from the nine-hole hitter led the inning off.
Following Sullivan was senior Luca Mariano who almost tied the game up with a deep fly to left field that fell just short of a home run. After the next batter struck out swinging, captain Will Forman was awarded first base at the cost of being hit by a pitch.
With runners on first and second base, sophomore Luke Napoli ripped a single through the left side of the infield to net a run. That was all the Raiders could muster up, however, as the next batter would strike out to end the game.
“It always seems that with that sense of urgency, we're going to respond and give ourselves a chance at the end,” head coach Steve Ryan said. “It's a matter of doing that 100% of the time, except instead of just when necessary.”
In the field, Stephen Alphas was on the bump to start and pitched a complete game for Dover-Sherborn, recording an impressive seven strikeouts while allowing two walks.
The Raiders did not allow much traffic on the base paths after the first inning, but it was Medfield’s first plate appearance that would be the deciding factor.
Against the first batter of the game, Alphas allowed a walk. Two batters later, a weak infield grounder was not fielded quick enough to beat the runner down the first base line. With runners on first and second base, a double steal led to a poor throw from the catcher, giving Medfield a jog into home plate for its first run.
A single into right field later in the inning scored Medfield’s second run of the game. A groundout ended the inning.
Over the course of the next three innings, Alphas and the Raiders’ defense recorded consecutive one-two-three innings but their bats could not provide any assistance. Not much would change at the plate for Dover-Sherborn until its final frame push.
Despite the performance, Coach Ryan is not concerned with the Raiders’ offensive production – a group that had produced 29 runs in the three games prior – heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
“We didn't hit today, but in general, our hitting has been better,” Ryan said. “I'm confident that we're going to be able to win more than one of [our final three] games.
Dover-Sherborn’s regular season finishes with home games against Medway(11-6) and Westwood(11-4), with a trip to Norton(6-11) marking the season finale. The Raiders lost to both Medway and Norton earlier in the season.
