Ravens pitching dominates in soggy win at home
by Shawn Anzalone
Starter Derek Duffy stepped up onto the mound under the thick patch of clouds above him and began carving up the Saint Michaels’ lineup. The Ravens pitching staff led the way to a 3-1 win over Saint Michaels’ on Sunday, March 31st at Pappas Field, giving the Ravens the series win making them 12-10 so far this season.
Saint Michaels wasn’t able to put their lone run on the board until the 7th inning and they plagued themselves with several errors throughout the game, and the rain didn’t help.
A scoreless game through three innings, it had begun to feel like a pitchers’ duel was going to take over the game until the Ravens stole two runs in the 4th, one off a sacrifice fly and another run came across when an errant throw allowed catcher Ural Forbes to reach the plate. Duffy got his run support and went on to throw another two scoreless innings.
Duffy faced his first trouble of the day in the 7th with two outs. A double straight over the head of center fielder Joel Lara started the rally for Saint Michaels and it was clear they weren’t ready to let Duffy shut them out as the bench loudly cheered on. The next batter stroked a single into center field and Saint Michaels’ lone run of the day crossed the plate. The momentum couldn’t have been more in Saint Michaels’ favor after the two out rally, but Duffy stared down the next Purple Knights batter and sent him back to the bench swinging, his 12th strikeout of the day.
The 8th inning was no different, three up and three down for Duffy and he walked off the mound to cheers from his teammates after a dominant performance with a two run lead. Duffy was replaced in the 9th by Danny Garcia, a freshman reliever. Garcia crushed all hope of a Saint Michaels’ comeback and with a quick pace got each of the three batters he faced out swinging only having to throw 11 pitches.
The Ravens will try for their third win in a row on Tuesday away at Southern New Hampshire University who own an imposing 20-5 record this year. The team can then look forward to a six game homestand.
