Rams swept by Blues in final weekend ahead of Qualifiers

TORONTO - As the last weekend rolled around for the Rams baseball team before heading to Sudbury for the OUA qualifiers, they took on the Varsity Blues at Dan Lang Field.

Game 1: Toronto 8, Rams 4

With Toronto pitching first, the Rams were kept from scoring any runs as they headed to the bottom of the first. With a couple of errors from the infield, Toronto took a 1-0 lead over the Rams.

Antonio Salatino batted first in the second inning, hitting a line drive to centrefield with enough time to get to first. Devon Capitao followed, hitting another line drive to centrefield, getting Salatino to third base. A walk by Sam Turcotte loaded the bases, but unfortunately, the team was not able to bring any of the three runners home.

The Varsity Blues ended up scoring another run, putting themselves up 2-0 by the bottom of the third.

As Capitao stepped up to the plate, he swung and hit the ball past the centrefield fence to score a home run and the first run for the Rams.

The next inning was quiet for both teams with the Rams pushing to tie the score with the Varsity Blues.

In the top of the sixth inning, Rob Mannella and Capitao both walked, putting runners on first and second base. Turcotte then bunted and was able to get Mannella home to tie the score, 2-2. Matthew Tohana followed Turcotte's play, allowing Capitao to run home as they took the lead 3-2 over Toronto.

Logan Kerry then took the mound, however, Toronto scored three more runs.

By the bottom of the seventh, Mark Rizzotto took Kerry's place pitching, with the Varsity blues scoring yet a couple more runs to make the score at 8-3. Domenic Gonzalez made a catch in the outfield to hold Toronto from making the lead bigger.

Up to bat, Turcotte hit the ball far enough to give him time to run to first. Wil Nenadovic took Turcotte's place as a pinch-runner, with the hope that he could score. Daniel Cote walked and Josh Thomas was hit by a pitch to once again load the bases for the Rams. Ryan Ricci hit an RBI to bring Nenadovic home, but that was all the Rams could muster, leaving the final score at 8-4.

Game 2: Toronto 5, Rams 0

Once both teams were reenergized, they took to the field for the start of game two.

No runs were accounted by the Rams in the top of the first inning. Noah Falkenberg was the starting pitcher for this game and did not allow any runs for Toronto in return.

Francesco Giordano relieved Falkenberg in the third inning where Toronto broke ahead first, giving them a 3-0 lead.

Both teams fought hard to keep the other from scoring as the game went on. The infielders and outfielders kept their focus on the ball, engraining it in their minds that they could not afford any more runs.

Kit Corsini was placed on the mound in the fifth inning, continuing to keep Toronto from expanding their lead.

To close, Thomas Markus pitched the bottom of the sixth inning, where Toronto scored two more runs, winning game two with a score of 5-0.

The Rams now get ready to play at the OUA qualifiers this coming weekend, hoping to earn their way into the championship.

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Players Mentioned

#26 Antonio Salatino: 3B; 5' 11"; 1

#23 Daniel Cote: SS; 6' 0"; 1

#31 Devon Capitao: 3B; 5' 10"; 1

#9 Domenic Gonzalez: OF; 6' 1"; 1

#21 Francesco Giordano: P; 5' 7"; 2

#5 Josh Thomas: OF; 5' 11"; 1

#7 Kit Corsini: P/OF; 6' 0"; 1

#18 Logan Kerry: P; 5' 7"; 3

#22 Mark Rizzotto: P; 6' 0"; 3

#27 Noah Falkenberg: P; 6' 0"; 1

Players Mentioned

#26 Antonio Salatino
: 5' 11"; 1
: 3B

#23 Daniel Cote
: 6' 0"; 1
: SS

#31 Devon Capitao
: 5' 10"; 1
: 3B

#9 Domenic Gonzalez
: 6' 1"; 1
: OF

#21 Francesco Giordano
: 5' 7"; 2
: P

#5 Josh Thomas
: 5' 11"; 1
: OF

#7 Kit Corsini
: 6' 0"; 1
: P/OF

#18 Logan Kerry
: 5' 7"; 3
: P

#22 Mark Rizzotto
: 6' 0"; 3
: P

#27 Noah Falkenberg
: 6' 0"; 1
: P