Captain Sam Conte ’07 smashed three of his four hits for doubles, scored three times and knocked in two runs to lead Andover’s relentless offense against Northfield Mount Hermon this Saturday. Andover (9-0) won both games of the double-header, scoring a collective 28 runs and allowing only three to continue the team’s undefeated season. The Andover bats were seemingly unstoppable in both of last Saturday’s games. Behind Conte’s team-leading four hits, Matt Skinner ’07, Brian Thompson ’07 and Mike Ciummei ’08 had three hits apiece in the first game of the day. J.R. Santaniello ’08, Joe Smith ’07 and Bobby Farnham ’08 also smacked two hits apiece, as eight of Andover’s nine starting batters contributed with at least one run batted in. Andover pitcher Jack Dilday ’07 was equally dazzling, tossing his second straight complete game. With plenty of offensive support, Dilday settled in and struck out an impressive 10 batters, only allowing four hits. One of those hits, a solo home run in the top of the fourth, was the lone run of the game for NMH. The second game of the double header featured similar domination by Andover. Thompson was the scheduled starter, but quickly came out in the second inning due to tightness in his lower back. Without notice, Santaniello was forced to take the mound, coming in from right field, and shut down NMH for five impressive innings. Atteberry came in and closed out the game, striking out four batters in one inning due to a dropped third strike. Santaniello allowed only a single unearned run, while walking two and surrendering one hit, using offspeed pitches to fool NMH batters. “My change-up and curveball were working very well on Saturday,” he said. “NMH had just seen Jack in the first game, who is more of an overpowering fastball pitcher, so I think when I came in, it was a difficult adjustment for NMH to make. “ Meanwhile, Andover’s offense continued its attack on NMH pitching. Smith launched a two-run homer in the bottom of the third, and knocked in five runs. Skinner also had two hits while helping the team to three runs batted in, and Santaniello supported himself, roping three hits and scoring three times. Conte and Mike Palermo ’08 both reached base three times and scored a combined five runs. Andover’s fantastic day at the plate featured 20 total hits in both games, with a team average of .541.
