Photo by Pam Lovejoy
Following a tough loss to St. Thomas Aquinas on May 7th, the Oyster River varsity baseball team has bounced back with a two game win streak. Their latest victory was an 8-4 win against D1 Dover High School on Saturday, May 15th.
The Bobcats had a strong showing on the offensive side, with six hits and three steals. Pitchers Foch Lovejoy (’21) and John Federico (’23) held down the Bobcat’s defense with Federico coming out with the win. Robbie Follis (‘21) started the game strong with a leadoff single. Alden Swiesz (‘21) then advanced Follis to second. Follis then stole third and scored on a wild pitch. In the second inning, Brandon Raitt (‘22) hit a single to get on base, and advanced to second off another wild pitch. Ellis Tonkin (‘21) walked and then both Raitt and Tonkin stole bases to land them at 2nd and 3rd. Lucas Spier (‘21) smashed a double down the third base line, which drove both Raitt and Tonkin in to score. This put the Bobcats up 3-0 at the end of the 2nd.
“After our first few runs I felt like we knew we could win and that’s what helped diver our energy for the rest of the game,” said Spier. “It really helped get our momentum going and allowed us to get a good amount of runs on the board.”
Endicott College commit Foch Lovejoy (‘21) started the game on the mound and pitched 4.1 innings. He allowed two runs and had ten strikeouts. Dover ended up scoring three runs total in the 4th inning off a bloop single and throwing error. Lovejoy let up one run and obtained one strikeout in the top of the 5th, and was then relieved by John Federico (‘23). The Green Wave scored one more run in the 5th against Federico, making the score 4-4.
In the bottom of the 5th, Jack Poitras (‘22) successfully attempted a suicide squeeze, one of the most risky plays in baseball. A suicide squeeze is when a runner on third steals home and the batter lays down a suicide bunt. The reason it’s risky is that both players have a chance of getting out. If the bunt isn’t absolutely perfect or the runner on third isn’t fast enough, the play could fail. When Poitras stepped up to the plate, Follis was already positioned on third base. “Coach Calato went and talked to Poitras about the play, came back to third and told me that it was going down,” said Follis. As the pitcher began his windup, Follis took off for home and Poitras successfully bunted down the third base line. This allowed Follis to score, giving the Bobcats the lead. “Poitras did a great job executing the bunt,” Follis continued, “It was a big momentum changer in the game.”
Federico stayed solid on the mound and didn’t let up any more runs in the last two innings. The Bobcats came away with an 8-4 victory. This win is also a good sign for their potential success this postseason. “Our entire lineup was able to put the ball in play and run the bases very well,” said Spier “This was something we weren’t able to do last time we played them.” Saturday’s game was the second time this year that the Bobcats have taken on Dover. In their first matchup, the Bobcats lost 5-1 and only had one hit. “Saturday’s win was definitely a redemption,” said third baseman Ellis Tonkin (‘21).
The Bobcats next game is on the road against the Spaulding Raiders on Friday. This will be their 5th time facing a D1 team this season. The Bobcat’s current record stands at 5-3 after Saturday’s win. Spaulding’s record is 0-7 and it’s doubtful that the Bobcats will hand them their first win. Tune into Facebook at 3:30pm on Friday to watch Local Legend Greg Poitras’ fully commentated live stream. The link is below.
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