Cavs take advantage of miscues to beat Sabers

AMHERST - The Hollis/Brookline High School baseball team had a tough time stringing hits together on Friday.

It didn't matter. The Cavaliers drew 10 walks and benefited from seven Souhegan errors to beat the Sabers 9-4.

Steve Rossetti scored three runs and Tim Rencken and Mike Chase each drove in a run as the Cavs (4-1 in Division II) scored six unearned runs in the third and fourth innings. Rencken, Jeremy Heard and Jake Lavoie combined to hold Souhegan to four runs on five hits and five walks.

Chris Chininis scored two runs for the Sabers (1-2) while Kyle Beaulieu had a RBI double and Chris Almeida and Matt Schagrin had a hit and a run scored each.

But no matter what Souhegan did at the plate, there were too many walks and miscues in the field to overcome.

The Cavs got their first run in the top of the first on a passed ball and went up 2-0 in the third on an error.

The Sabers answered with three runs in the bottom of the third, despite having a runner thrown out at home for the first out of the inning. Chininis reached on a three-base error and scored when ball four to Almeida went to the backstop. Schagrin followed with a single and Beaulieu dropped a double just out of the reach of right fielder Colin Pellerin to drive in Almeida.

Nick Hession added a sacrifice fly to score Schagrin and give the Sabers the lead, but Heard struck out Tyler Manoogian to end the inning.

H/B got the lead right back in the fourth off Souhegan starter Bobby Graham. Lavoie singled and Justin Page walked before Ian Fay laid down a bunt. Graham's throw to first was off the mark and Lavoie and Page scored as Fay made it safely to third. Rossetti walked to finish Graham's day with no outs in the inning.

Robbie McCormick came on in relief and struck out Mitch Frick and Chase, but not be fore a passed ball scored Fay. Rencken followed with a RBI single to score Rossetti and Heard walked before McCormick struck out Pellerin, the ninth batter of the inning.

The Cavs added two more runs in the fifth on two hits, a sacrifice bunt, a walk and an error to go up 8-3. Souhegan got one back in the bottom of the inning when Chininis reached on an error, stole second, went to third when the throw sailed into center field and scored when the throw from center went out of play.

In the top of the sixth, H/B got another run without getting a hit, scoring on four walks and an error. The Cavs could have had more had it not been for a force out at home.

The Sabers had a chance to get back in the game in the bottom half of the inning, loading the bases on a hit and two walks, but Lavoie came on in relief, striking out James Astbury before inducing two popups to end the inning.

H/B is off until April 29, when it will host John Stark, while Souhegan host Goffstown on April 25.