Somerset Berkley baseball squeaks out another tough win over Dighton-Rehoboth

SOMERSET — Throughout the season, the Somerset Berkley baseball team has shown the resiliency to win close games.

Friday's South Coast Conference home matchup against Dighton-Rehoboth was no exception.

Four games by the Raiders this spring were won by three runs or less.

Head coach Dennis Almeida explains his team's success thus far.

"The mental toughness, the fight, very pitch and every at bat," he said after blanking the Falcons, 2-0. "We've been pitching well and that's been our key. Obviously, we held other opponent down as far as the scoreboard.

"Defense has been average to above average. We make some great plays and we have our innings where we kick the ball around. But I would say pitching first and defense second. We've been getting timely hitting and productive outs. Our offense hasn't been there yet but credit to the boys, it is not awful. There's more to come with the offense."

The shutout was the third straight for SBR (9-1) and sixth of the season.

"Somerset is an outstanding team," Falcons head coach Bill Cuthbertson said. "They're getting great pitching, excellent defense and that combination is difficult to beat. They don't walk anyone so you have to earn your runs."

Jon Lynch had another solid performance on the hill for the Raiders. The senior-right hander allowed just two hits, walked one while striking out five. He also threw 13 first pitch strikes. Brother Jason Lynch was lights out in the seventh, retiring the side in order for the save.

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"Jon [Lynch] was good and he was locating well," said senior catcher Tyler Costa, who finished with a pair of hits and RBI in the win. "Inside and outside. We were getting a little squeezed but that's all right. He worked around it pretty well. He's a good contact pitcher and did just that today."

The Falcons (1-8) played their second straight close game with SBR. D-R lost the first meeting earlier in the season by the exact same score in extra innings.

"We have a young inexperience team that is experiencing varsity baseball for the first time," Cuthbertson said. "They're learning under pressure. It's like throwing kids into the deep end of the pool and they don't know to swim. But they're learning against good competition and in a very good league. We're struggling but today was an improvement and [we] played solid in field. It was a good competitive game."

How it happened

SBR scored the only run it would need in the first inning. Owen Derocher drew a one-out walk followed by a walk to Dominic Alderman. A wild pitch advanced both of the runners, but Derocher was caught trying to advance to home on a bunt attempt. Costa knocked a 2-2 pitch for single, driving in Alderman for the first run.

In the third inning, Alderman caused havoc on the base paths, stealing a pair of bases before scoring on a wild pitch to give the Raiders a 2-0 lead. D-R freshman pitcher Will Labrie escaped further damage by inducing a pop fly in the infield with the base loaded for the third out.

Labrie pitched well in his outing, allowing just four hits, walked six batters and struck out two batters. Hayden Bessette came on in relief and allowed just three hits, no walks or runs.

With a runner on base, the Falcons defense came up big in the fifth inning. First, second baseman Isaac Christmas went up high to grab a hot shot off the bat of Camden Hoyle. Right fielder Aiden Melo corralled a deep shot to right field off the bat of Dean Gobeil.

SBR did complete a double play in the fifth inning. Jon Lynch caught a D-R runner napping at second base in the sixth inning with a pick-off attempt.

Raiders shortstop Jayden Cruz had a pair of hits and made a strong throw to first in the seventh inning in the win. Jordan Castro and Brennon Silva each had hits for the Falcons.

Next up

SBR travels to Wareham on Monday while the Falcons travel to Case.

Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on Twitter @Chezsports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Pitching, defense and mental toughness lifts Somerset to success