ORLEANS – In what was billed as the Atlantic Coast League Showdown held at Nathan Eldredge Park in Orleans, Dennis-Yarmouth used the momentum of a Mike Knell three-run homer in the third inning and Drew Gallant’s stellar pitching en route to a come-from-behind, 7-4 win over Sandwich Friday afternoon.
Drew Gallant went the distance for the Dolphins and the win against Sandwich Friday night at Eldredge Park.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
After a scoreless first, Sandwich went up 2-0 in the top of the second inning on hits from Vinny Petracca and Cam Yadisernia, combined with a pair of passed balls and a walk.
Dennis-Yarmouth retaliated with one run in the bottom of the second after Jake Gleason laced a one-out single, stole second and advanced to third on a balk then came home on a Gallant single that made it 2-1.
But in the bottom of the third inning, the Dolphins capitalized on a pair of walks when Knell launched a 1-0 fastball around the leftfield foul pole to make it 4-2 and that was enough for Gallant to keep the Blue Knights off balance for much of the remainder of the game.
Knell scored in the fifth inning after hammering a double and the Dolphins tacked on a pair of key runs in the sixth to take home the win. Ben Chapasko had a key RBI-single to drive Knell home in the fifth.
Gallant went the distance and induced 13 pop flies while striking out one in what could only be deemed a portrait of efficiency and poise against the solid Blue Knight bats. Sandwich catcher Pat Tierney went 2-4 on the day.
Knell went 2-3 with three RBI to pace the Dolphins’ lineup and Chapasko went 2-2 with one RBI. Drew Cochran and Jake Gleason played well defensively.
“The bats were there today in a timely way,” said Dolphins’ head coach J.D. Stone. “It was a good win for us today. Maybe it was the postseason that pushed them, but we needed that win
Dennis-Yarmouth’s Mike Knell hammered a homer and a double in last night’s win over Sandwich.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
for morale.”
Southpaw Will Crowther got the start for the Blue Knights but was relieved by Jake Golden who got saddled with the loss.
The Dolphins clinched a postseason berth with the victory and are now 10-8. Sandwich, now 8-9, is still alive in terms of its postseason hunt with three regular season games left on the schedule.
— Sean Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm
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