In a nine inning Bay State League game, pitching is an absolute necessity for survival.
And that certainly was the case for the Marauders in their league tilt with a talented Norwood Mustang squad, who were coming off a tough 2-1 loss to Brookline on Monday.
The Marauders got a gutsy pitching performance from both their ace Mike Ryan, who has been battling some tough outings recently, and their workhorse reliever Chris DeLouchrey, to combine for a come-from-behind 7-4 victory over the Mustangs in 12 innings at Wall Field in Norwood Wednesday afternoon.
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“I thought both Mikey and Chris pitched outstanding,” said manager Kevin Quaranto, whose team improved to 5-3 overall and (2-2) in league play.
Ryan battled through some tough innings early on but settled down and went 6 1/3 innings, allowing seven hits and striking out eight Mustangs to keep his team within striking distance.
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Norwood got two on the board in the first on two unearned runs, when Jordan Davis led off with a single and stole second. Both Davis and Sean O’Neil scored on a double error by the Dedham defense.
Norwood added a third run in the second when Sam Anderson led off with a triple and scored on a single by Austin Glaser to make it 3-0 Norwood after two.
But Dedham and Ryan plugged away as the Marauders were able to get one back in the third thanks to the “Mash Brothers” of Dan O’Connor and Matt Barron who combined to go 6-for-10 at the plate with two runs scored.
Barron added a run-tying single in the sixth, however the Marauders couldn’t hold on as the Mustangs got a run back in the seventh thanks to a triple by Ryan Conley and an RBI single off a DeLouchrey fastball by O’Neil.
It was all Norwood would be able to muster off the “rocket fire” reliever who went 5 2/3 innings, allowing two hits and striking out six Mustangs for the win.
“We’ve been talking about more energy and we’ve been talking about having better leaders,” said Quaranto.
The Marauders momentum shifted again in the top of the eighth when O’Connor scored on a passed ball to make it 4-4.
“We didn’t pitch well, we kept throwing them on base with walks, we got deep into pitch counts early,” said Norwood’s manager James Sweeney, “ We got out of a bunch of jams, but sooner or later you’re going to get bit, and we got bit.”
Norwood finally succumbed to the Marauders bite in the top of the 12th inning, when Dedham’s Tommy Connolly led off with a walk while a O’Connor single followed him. An error on the Norwood second baseman loaded the bases with one out for hero Patrick Maloney, who hit a two-run double with one out for the winning runs.
“I was nervous,” said the sophomore Maloney, “The toughest situation I have ever been in, but I got a pitch to hit.”
Kevin Mowe added a RBI single to score Kevin Boudrow for the 7-4 final.
“Our kids really stepped up today,” said Quaranto.
