By Shane Ball
A late-game push gave Alvirne a 4-3 comeback win in the seventh inning against Bishop Guertin on Thursday to end the regular season.
Alvirne opened up the scoring in the top of the first inning thanks to a double from Mikey Bebris that ran one.
Bishop Guertin finally struck back in the bottom of the fourth inning after a single from Kolby Piper that ran two. A wild pitch hitting Nate Bowen gave Bishop Guertin their third run of the inning.
The score remained 3-1 until the top of the seventh inning. Left fielder Jaxson Polleck scored after tagging up to cut the Cardinals’ lead to one.
An error gave the Broncos two more runs for the lead, putting them up 4-3.
Pitcher Brody Buja earned the win for Alvirne. Buja held the Bishop Guertin Cardinals scoreless through four innings, only giving up one hit. Bishop Guertin’s pitcher Jordan Delude went all seven innings, striking out 11. Despite some impressive pitching by Delude, the Broncos still managed four runs on five hits.
Matty Bebris led the Broncos with three hits in three at-bats. Carter Crawford led the Broncos with two runs, followed by Bebris and Polleck with one each.
The shorthanded Broncos did fall to Pinkerton earlier this week, but new faces got a chance to rise to the varsity level. Four freshmen and three sophomores suited up for the varsity squad.
JV pitchers Drown and Workman split the workload evenly alongside Brady Mitchell, each pitching for two innings. Drown didn’t give up a single run in his two innings. Workman, a freshman, gave up just two runs in two innings.
Freshman Baviello scored a run after working a walk. Freshman Cox’s first varsity hit was a double, the only extra-base hit of the game.
The first inning was a collection of lapses that the Broncos could not come back from. Pinkerton’s Brendan Horne drew a walk for one run, an error gave the Astros two more, Anthony Caruso grounded out for one, Hayden Marshall singled for one, and Michael Cioffi singled for two in this high-scoring quarter.
Though the Broncos gave up seven in a rough first inning, the rest of the game went fairly smoothly. They gave up four runs in the five following innings while scoring two of their own. The final score in this one was a 2-11 loss for the shorthanded Broncos.
The Broncos went 4-14 on the season, with five losses decided by one run. The highlight of their season was the three-game win streak against Keene, Merrimack, and Spaulding. This streak saw three of five games with four or more runs for the Broncos this season, a rare yet notable moment. Timely hitting has been a struggle all year for the Broncos, but they were clicking on all ends for a brief period. The 4-14 record tied them with Merrimack, who Alvirne beat earlier this season, putting them near the bottom of the Division.