Obviously, it does admittedly come across as somewhat jaded when we say that we've become more than a bit accustomed to undefeated baseball teams, but if we've come to understand anything about the players in our baseball program, they generally never take anything for granted. One thing that many baseball fans expected yesterday, however, was a tense, low-scoring game between our guys and LaSalle, the RIIL equivalent of Red Sox-Yankees. With the Hawks' Mike McCaffrey toeing the rubber against the Rams' very talented CJ Dandaneau, everyone in attendance - or, for that matter, viewing at home via the live broadcast on The Network - had every reason to think that they'd be witnessing a pitcher's duel.
THE VIEW FROM THE NETWORK'S LOCATION
Not so much, as it turned out.
The Hawks came out of the gate swinging, and by game's end their 14-hit attack was paced by Ryan Rotondo (three hits), John Toppa (two hits, including a double), Gian Martellini (two hits, double), Dante Baldelli (two hits, double) and John Willette (two hits out of the ninth spot in the order). While our guys were laying the bat on Rams' pitching, however, McCaffrey struggled a bit, yielding seven hits and lasting only three innings. Sophomore Matt Kennedy and senior Christian Travers finished the day out on the hill.
Viewers can still watch the entire game, from beginning to end, right here.
Video streaming by UstreamStats follow this post.
The Hawks started fast, getting out to a 4-0 lead before the Rams began making some noise in the third inning, when they cut their deficit to 4-3. Our guys answered with a two-spot of their own in the bottom half of the third, and then the teams swapped three-run innings over the course of the remainder of the game, resulting in the Hawks' 9-6 win.
The next baseball action will be tomorrow, Wednesday, when the Hawks take on North Providence at 4pm at Pepin Field, and then again on Thursday, when St. Ray's pays us a visit, also at 4pm. As of right now, both games will be broadcast LIVE, right here on The Network. Johnathan Feeny, Cam Brennan, and Stone Freeman are scheduled to handle play-by-play and analysis duties for tomorrow's game, and Matt Rowlands, Nick Bianco, and Remy Morris are on tap for Thursday.
Be sure to tune in - not only will you get to see some quality Hawks baseball, but you'll also get to listen to some steady, reliable, play-by-play from our guys in the booth, along with some - well - let's just say 'interesting' commentary.
#GOHAWKS.
