SOUTH YARMOUTH – One man set the table, the other one cleared it.
Dennis-Yarmouth junior southpaw Drew Gallant threw five solid innings Friday afternoon in the first round of the MIAA Division 3 South Sectionals at Merrill “Red” Wilson Field, as he
Dennis-Yarmouth’s Drew Gallant used 74 pitches and turned in a solid five innings of work for a first round MIAA Division 3 South Sectional win over Ashland Friday afternoon.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
struck out four and gave up three runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks en route to a 5-3 win that eliminated 10th seed Ashland (10-11) from postseason contention.
Junior righty Jake Gleason then came on in the sixth frame and closed it out with three strikeouts and just one hit for the save.
“It was a good win,” Dennis-Yarmouth head coach J.D. Stone said. “I want to keep going. We all want to keep going. I think we got some jitters out today, but we came from behind and didn’t give up.”
Backed by a slim, 1-0 lead after three frames, Gallant saw that lead fade into a 2-1 deficit on a key outfield error in the top of the fourth inning, but the hosts quickly recovered in the bottom half of the fourth to tie it at 2-2.
Gleason was struck by a pitch to lead off the fourth and Ben Chapasko followed with a single before Gallant (2-2, RBI) drove Chapasko home to tie it at 2-2.
In the top of the fifth, Ashland strung together a pair of one-out hits by Phil Cooper and Joe Schelling that made it 3-2, guests, but Gallant stranded a pair of runners on base.
Gallant’s Dolphin brothers then opened up a can of how-do-you-do in the bottom of the fifth and in the process eviscerated any hope or momentum Ashland had left in the tank.
Senior outfielder Drew Cochran led off the fifth with a walk but was nailed at third for the first out on a Mike Dunn single, but Trevor Allen took care of Dunn and drove him home with a double on a 1-0 fastball. Allen then came flying home to make it 4-3 on a clutch Mike Knell triple and when Knell scored the advantage had grown to 5-3, Dennis-Yarmouth’s favor. Knell’s shot eventually proved to be the game-winning hit.
Dennis-Yarmouth’s Jake Gleason notched the save in two innings of superlative relief work to maintain a 5-3 lead and a key opening-round tournament win for the Dolphjins on Friday.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
Enter Gleason.
Gleason took the mound for the Dolphins in the sixth and seventh frames and was a portrait of focus as he located his pitches just right to foil whatever hope Ashland had of coming back. He struck out the first two batters he faced, then allowed a harmless base-knock and retired the last batter on a liner to Knell at short.
Cochran, heading to Massachusetts Maritime Academy in the fall, went 2-4 from the leadoff spot while catcher Mike Dunn, heading to the Cheshire Academy in the fall for a post-graduate year, went 3-4. Allen hit a pair of doubles to go 2-2, Gallant went 2-2, Knell was 1-3 with an RBI-triple and Max Sumner went 2-3.
The Dolphins, seeded 7th and now 11-8 on the season, will hit the road for #2 East Bridgewater (17-2) on Monday at 4:00 pm for the Division 3 South Quarterfinals.
— Sean Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm
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