EASTERN’S DiPIETRO, WENDELL COMBINE ON BASEBALL NO-HITTER

 

DiPietro loses perfect game in eighth as Warriors blank Westfield State 7-0

 

       MANSFIELD, Conn. – Junior lefty Ryan DiPietro (KENSINGTON) pitched seven perfect innings and settled for a combined no-hitter as the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team team opened its 2005 home season with a 7-0 victory over Westfield State College Tuesday afternoon at the ECSU Baseball Stadium.

             

            DiPietro (2-0)  retired the first 21 batters in order – allowing only three balls out of the infield – before Westfield State (4-7)  freshman centerfielder Matt Tirrell reached safely when his fly ball was misplayed in right field. DiPietro then walked senior third baseman Matt Gurley on eight pitches and,  after recording his 15th strikeout, was lifted in favor of junior righty Brian Wendell (SOUTH KINGSTOWN, RI). Wendell hit the first batter he faced with his first pitch but escaped with an inning-ending double play. Wendell preserved the tenth no-hitter in program history (first combined) by striking out the side in the ninth.

 

       DiPietro, the 2005 NCAA Division III national pre-season Player-of-the-Year, improved to 23-2 lifetime with his 14th straight regular-season win. Beginning with the last out of the fifth, he fanned seven straight before Tirrell opened the eighth with the fly ball to right. Until the eighth, Westfield’s best chance for a baserunner came in the second inning, but  Eastern (7-5) senior leftfielder Jason Pekrul (BERLIN) made a backhanded grab of sophomore catcher Chris Hebert’s drive while racing toward the left field line for the final out of the inning.

 

            Ranked 17th nationally and fifth in New England, the Warriors recorded 18 hits off three Westfield pitchers, with every player contributing at least one.

 

       Eastern’s 3-4-5 hitters of sophomore centerfielder Randy Re (DANBURY), junior rightfielder Marc Garofalo (SOUTH KINGSTOWN, RI) and junior first baseman Chris DeSantis (SHREWSBURY, MA) combined for eight hits (including a double and triple), four RBI and three runs scored. Batting cleanup, Garofalo reached

safely four times with two singles and a triple and a walk. In the first inning, he drove in the first run with a two-out infield single and scored the second. on DeSantis’ double to right-center.  His two-run triple in the fourth made it 6-0. Re collected two of Eastern’s seven infield singles and also singled down the third base line, stole a and base and scored in the eighth. 

       Batting eighth, senior shortstop Tom Koch (WARWICK, RI) had three hits – legging out two infield ground balls -- and scored a run.

       The home-opening win is the 21st in the last 22 years for Eastern and eighth straight over Westfield. In last year’s 16-0 home-opening win over Westfield, DiPietro was the starting and winning pitcher, combining on a three-hitter. He fanned 12 and allowed only two hits and a walk over the first six innings.

 

 

Eastern Conn. 7, Westfield State College 0

 

 Eastern Conn. (7-5)                  200      400      010      --      7         18        1

 

Westfield State (4-7)                000      000      000      --         0            0        1

 

 Ryan DiPietro (2-0), Brian Wendell (8) and Matt Cooney. Joe Tremblay (1-2), Mike Domurad (8), Russ Lloyd (9) and Chris Hebert. 2B-Jason Pekrul, Chris DeSantis, Alex Cordona (E); 3B-Marc Garofalo (E).