Rough Ending for Rough Riders in 2-1 Defeat to the Dukes
Kent, OH - Following an abbreviated make-up with Suburban Conference foe Aurora earlier in the morning, the Kent Roosevelt Rough Riders welcomed the Marlington Dukes to Roosevelt Field for a non-conference matchup. A sun-splashed field was a welcome reprieve following yesterday’s rain, even if the temperature hovered in the low 50’s.
The Dukes threatened early, getting runners on base in each of the first three innings, but were never able to get one across. It was the hosts that broke the 0-0 deadlock thanks to some timely aggressive baserunning by senior Teddy Maccarone. Following a leadoff walk to start the bottom of the third, Maccarone stole 2nd. Later in Rocco Baffetta’s at-bat, Maccarone took advantage of a lazy toss back to the pitcher, scampering to third before the Dukes knew what hit them. It was Gavin Polcha who reaped the benefits of Maccarone’s aggressiveness, sending a towering drive to left field, deep enough to bring Maccarone home to break the deadlock.
The Dukes continued to put traffic on the base paths, but the Rough Riders combined enough pitching and defense to keep the score 1-0. On the mound for Roosevelt through the 6 scoreless innings were A Benshoff (2 IP), N Roberts (2 IP), and J Courtheyn (2 IP). Dukes starting pitcher Logan Smith matched the effort, allowing only the one run on the sacrifice fly in his 6 innings pitched, which included 7 K’s of Rough Rider hitters.
As Kent Coach Mike Haney stated post-game, some of the Rough Riders’ luck just ran out at the top of the 7th inning. It was Maccarone on the bump trying to save the game and give the home team 2 wins on this Saturday, but he faced the meat of the Dukes’ line-up, and some control issues opened the door for the Dukes to finally break through after putting runners on nearly every inning. The visitors would score two, and the Rough Riders' gallant effort in the home half came up just shy, as they were not able to get the tying run in from 3rd before the final out was recorded. The loss drops the Rough Riders to 3-3 on the season, while the victory moved the Dukes to 4-2.
