University Defeats Somerset On The Strength Of White’s Arm

University Head Coach Rich Hofman came into this season believing his team would hit the baseball well. What Hofman was unsure of, was how his pitching staff would take form. On Friday, Mike White and Mike Crespo showed Hofman that they too could be counted on to carry the load for the Suns.

White started the game for the Suns and worked out of an early jam to pitch six strong innings en route to a 5-1 district win over Somerset Academy. Crespo took over in the seventh and worked out of a jam to pick up the save for University.

The game may have turned out differently had Somerset taken advantage of early base runners. In the first, White gave up a lead-off triple to Milton Ramos, and an RBI single to Jadan Garcia. The Suns starter also walked Kevin Abraham in the inning, but was helped out when Garcia was thrown out stealing and Andrew Denis hit into a 4-6-3 double play.

The score was 1-0 Somerset heading to the fourth, but University scored two runs, keyed by a White double. J.J. Cormier started the rally with his second hit of the night, a single to left. Diego Espinoza also had a hit in the inning for the Suns.

In the sixth, University tacked on three runs to take a 5-1 lead. Lead-off batter Crespo legged out an infield single, White singled to left, and designated hitter Jordan Budwig laid down a sacrifice bunt. Espinoza then struck again with a two-run triple. Espinoza later scored on a ground ball to second, closing the scoring for the Suns on the evening.

In the seventh, White worked into a jam by walking the first two batters of the frame. Crespo relieved White, and promptly induced a 4-6-3-2 double play. The play unfolded when Denis grounded to the right side of second base, the ball was deflected by the second baseman, to the shortstop, who threw to first for the out. White, who moved to first after coming off the mound, threw home to complete the double play when catcher Cormier tagged out Garcia.

The double play was the third of the night, and it was the defense and timely hitting that stood out for Coach Hofman.

“Our defense was superb tonight,” said Hofman. “I was disappointed with our offense for the most part. We did finally get some big hits late in the game, so we never quit. We kept the pressure on and finally it broke. Mike (White) had the big hit, that two-run double was huge for us and that gave us a little momentum. Then, the three runs in the sixth put it away.”

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