Dameron Hits Walk-Off to Finish Game 1, Bullpen Closes Door in Game Two as Delaware Defeats Mason 10-7 in Each Game
March 12, 2011
Photos Courtesy of Chris Permar
_lg.jpg)
• Game 1 Boxscore
• Game 2 Boxscore
NEWARK, Del. - - University of Delaware senior co-captain Pat Dameron (at right) kicked things off in grand fashion on Saturday, launching 2-0 pitch over the wall in right in the bottom of the 11th inning, winning game one of the Colonial Athletic Association baseball series against George Mason to win 10-7. The momentum carried into the start of game two, and Steve Richter slammed the door as the Blue Hens took both games, 10-7, against the Patriots at Bob Hannah Stadium.
Game one of the series was suspended due to darkness on Friday evening, and picked up at 1 p.m. with the start of the 11th inning. Michael O’Keeffe came on in relief and threw seven pitches in retiring the Patriots in order. Dave Anderson lined a double just inside the third base bag with one out in the bottom half of the inning. Two batters later, Dameron stepped in and delivered his first home run of the season, walking off with the 10-7 win.
The originally scheduled contest on Saturday started approximately 45 minutes after its slated start time, but the Delaware (5-9, 2-0 CAA) bats stayed hot as they jumped out of the gates and score six runs in the bottom of the second to take the lead.
The Blue Hens got three straight hits to open the second frame, as Aaron Mascoe started things off with a double down the right field line. Now with the bases loaded and two outs, Dameron singled into center field, plating Dylan Shupe and Nick Ferdinand for the 4-0 lead. Dave Anderson added a run on a wild pitch and Steve Ulaky capped the inning off with a single up the middle, scoring Dameron from second.
_lg.jpg)
George Mason (5-9, 0-2 CAA) would not lie down easily however, as they got on the board in the third with a pair of runs, and tied things up in the fourth with a four run inning. The big blow in fourth came off the bat of Jeremy Haas, who took a Pearson offering over the wall in left for a two run homerun.
The Blue Hens responded with a two spot in the fifth as Steve Ulaky and Mascoe teamed up to tally the first run with the first two at-bats of the inning. Ulaky led off with a double down the right field line, and Mascoe chased him home on the next pitch with a single to center.
The Patriots loaded the bases with only one out in eighth and down 8-7, but Richter bared down and got Schafferman to strike out swinging on a full count and Zach Helgeson to pop up to Ulaky at first to get out of the jam.
Leading by one, the home team looked for insurance runs and got some help from George Mason. Ferdinand led off with a triple to deep center field. After a failed squeeze attempt, Patriot catcher Jake Leonardo tried to catch Ferdinand off third, but an arrant throw went into left field, allowing Ferdinand to trot hoe safely. Pinch runner EJ Stoltzfus scored the innings second run on a wild pitch.
After Richter struggled through the eighth inning, his demons escaped him in the ninth as he settled down and retired the Patriots without a threat to earn his second save.
After a slow start to the non-conference season, head coach Jim Sherman likes the way his team has come alive to open the CAA schedule.
“It wasn’t the prettiest game (game two), but obviously we did things just a little bit better (than George Mason),” Sherman said. “We had some chinks in our armor but we got just enough pitching today. Richter wasn’t as sharp as he was yesterday. It looked like he found it right there at the end. Its good to be 2-0. If you would say you would rather start 3-9, and start conference 2-0, or 9-3 and 0-2 in the conference, well you know that answer.”
Dameron followed his walk off homerun by going 1-for-4 in the second contest with two RBI’s and a run scored. Ulaky, Mascoe, and Ferdinand all finished with two hits a piece on Saturday.
“We hammered them hard the other day,” Sherman said about his team coming around at the plate. “We had a good workout on Thursday indoors. We did it well early again in game two, hit a lull and then hit well again later in the game, so that’s a good sign.”
The Blue Hens will look for the sweep on Sunday, as they send freshman right-handed pitcher Chad Kuhl to the mound for the third and final game of the series. The Patriots will counter with A.J. Johnson. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
AGATE:
Game 1
George Mason….. 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 – 7 10 3
Delaware…………. 0 1 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 – 10 12 1
E – Cook 2 (7); Allen (4); Gallagher (5). DP – 1. LOB – Mason 13; Delaware 6. 2B – Tison (6); Schafferman 2 (4); Fernandez (2); Allen 2 (5); Mascoe (6); Yates (2); Anderson (2). HR – Dameron (1); Ulaky (1). HBP – Haas; Lyons. SH – Cook (1); Anderson (1). SF – Cook (2); Dameron (2). CS – Yates (1).
Win – Michael O’Keeffe (1-0). Loss – Jake Kleine (0-1). Save – None.
Game 2
George Mason….. 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 1 0 – 7 10 3
Delaware…………. 0 6 0 0 2 0 0 2 X – 10 11 2
E – Cook (8); Allen (5); Leonardo (1); Ferdinand (2); Pearson (1). DP - George Mason 3; Delaware 1. LOB – George Mason 10; Delaware 5. 2B – Allen (6); Ulaky (5); Mascoe (7). 3B – Ferdinand (1). HR – Haas (3). HBP – Cook; Schafferman; Leonardo; Long. SH – Cook (2). SF – Schafferman (2). SB – Ulaky (1).
Win – Eric Buckland (1-0). Loss – Chris O’Grady (1-3). Save – Steve Richter (2).
Back To Baseball Home Baseball Story Archive
