BROCKTON, Mass. ---- The Massasoit baseball team received two strong pitching performances and back-to-back homers from Luis Ramirez and Nick Andrews in game two to lead the Warriors to a doubleheader sweep of Holyoke on Saturday. Massasoit won the first game, 9-3 and game two, 3-1.
With the sweep, Massasoit improved to 11-9 overall and 7-1 against divisional opponents. HCC now sits at 4-13-1 overall and 4-7-1 in the division.
Massasoit returns to the diamond on Wednesday, with a road trip to Northern Essex slated to begin at 3:30 PM in Haverhill.
Game 1: Massasoit 9, Holyoke 3
Holyoke scored three times in the first, but Massasoit used a late rally to earn a come-from-behind game one victory, 9-3.
Luke DiTondo (Marshfield) settled in after a long first inning. The righty went all seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) off five hits and fanning a career-high nine to improve to 2-0 on the year. DiTondo held the Cougar lineup scoreless and surrendered only two hits after the three-run first inning and has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his five appearances.
Trailing 3-0 entering the bottom of the fifth, Massasoit woke up the tune of seven runs in the frame. The Warriors batted around, took advantage of three HCC miscues and DiTondo helped himself with a ringing two-run single to break the game open.
An inning later, the Warriors tacked on two more runs to round out the scoring.
Along with a strong outing on the bump, DiTondo went 2-for-3 at the dish with two RBI. Preston Rankin also went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and Aidan O'Neill (Halifax) added an RBI single in the fifth.
Game 2: Massasoit 3, Holyoke 1
Luis Ramirez and Nick Andrews (Raynham) launched back-to-back homers in the first inning, which provided more than enough offense for lefty Luke Lewando (Brockton) as the Warriors held on for a 3-1 victory to earn the sweep of the Cougars.
Lewando went the distance, allowing just one run off four hits in seven innings of work. The southpaw fanned a career-high eight batters, including the rare four strikeouts in one inning, and only walked one. Lewando retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced and the only base runner to reach past second in the game was HCC's Michael Indomenico who connected for a solo homer in the sixth.
The Warriors tacked on an insurance run when Lewando helped his cause with a sac fly in the fourth to plate DiTondo.
Ramirez and Rankin finished 2-for-3 at the plate.
