When Dennis Pelletier moved Jeremy Aubin to the top of the order, he was hoping it would spark Aubin’s bat. But Pelletier, the John Stark baseball coach, wasn’t expecting anything like this.
Aubin has boosted his average from .190 to .330, and after delivering the tying hit in the bottom of the seventh inning in Wednesday’s game against Bow, Aubin has a game-tying or go-ahead hit in three of Stark’s last four games. The Generals (9-6) took advantage of Aubin’s roll by pulling out a 6-5, eight-inning win over Bow (9-7).
“He’s really turned it on,” Pelletier said of Aubin, “and it’s amazing how many RBI opportunities he’s had at the top of the lineup.”
Trailing 5-3 going into the bottom of the seventh, the Generals caught a few breaks when Adam Tower reached on an error, went to second on a ground ball, moved to third on a single from Brandon Langdon and scored on a throwing error, which also allowed Langdon to move to second. That’s when Aubin (2-for-4, RBI) delivered his game-tying double to force extra innings.
The Falcons had a chance to score in the eighth, but Stark catcher Ryan Rothdiener hustled to cover third on a bunt to get a key out on a bang-bang play.
Stark capitalized on that momentum in the bottom of the eighth. Rian Queen opened the inning by getting hit by a pitch, his second plunking of the day. Benjamin Stogner, a pitcher who was clocked as the third fastest runner on the team during tryouts, was put in to pinch run for Queen, Stogner’s first pinch running appearance of the season.
The move worked as Stogner took second on a wild pitch and scored on a hit from Aaron Robertson ... the player who switched from the leadoff spot to No. 6 in the order when Aubin was moved.
“When we were coming off the field after (the top of the eighth), I was trying to pump up Aaron, telling him he was going to get the game-winning hit,” Pelletier said. “And then he did it.”
Conner Lorenz (2-for-4, RBI, run), Mac Kimball (2-for-3, RBI, two runs) and Brendan Winch (three walks, two runs) led the offense for Bow, which scored two in the second, one in the third and two in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead. Stark answered in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run home run from Derek Goldrick, and the Generals added a single run in the sixth.
Goldrick, who had college scouts watching him, also started the game on the mound for Stark and worked six innings, striking out three and allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits. Brett Patnode earned the win in relief, giving up one hit, one walk and no runs in two innings.
It was the last game of the season for Bow, which should qualify for the 12-team Division II playoffs. Stark will finish its schedule Thursday at home against ConVal (6-9).
“This win puts us in a good momentum spot,” Pelletier said. “If we can get this next win I think we’ll get a first round home game, and being at home has a made difference for us, so that would be big.”
