Down by a run entering the fifth inning, Sam Auffant ’09 pounded a home run over the left-center field to tie the game and propel Andover to its 6-3 victory over archrival Exeter. Andover made attempts to get everyone involved in the end-of-season rivalry game. Tom Palleschi ’12 worked the first two innings from the mound, followed by Tom Hamel ’10 for another two innings. Ace Glenn Stowell ’09, who led Andover to a victory against Exeter in the postseason tournament last week, came in to close out the final three frames in his last game in an Andover uniform. Earlier this year in the regular season, Exeter swept Andover in a Saturday doubleheader in two close games. Last week, Andover struck back in the post-season tournament, defeating Exeter behind a spectacular performance by Stowell. Saturday’s win tied the season series at two games apiece for the rivals. As the away team, Andover came to the plate first and went down swinging, as Exeter’s pitcher struck out the side. The discouraging start to the game was compounded in the home half of the first, when Exeter capitalized on two defensive miscues to score twice. After silent bats in the second, Chris Cameron ’11 ignited the offense by reaching base in the third inning on a bunt base hit. Co-Captain Anthony Morlani ’09 plated Cameron on a single to right field, putting Andover on the board. Morlani had two hits. Both clubs stayed quiet at the plate through the fourth. Then, in the top of the fifth, Auffant tagged a solo home run to tie the game at two. It was Auffant’s second long ball of the season. Stowell came in to pitch in the home half of the inning, shutting down Exeter and allowing only one run in three innings of work. In the sixth inning, Andover took the lead. Co-Captain Geoff Lynch ’09 pushed a bunt to the pitcher, and a runner on second base came around to score on a errant throw to first base. Andover added two more runs in the frame to take a 5-3 lead. Stowell earned the win for the day, and Andover closed out its season with a 6-3 victory. With this final win, Andover finished with a 14-6 record. Andover baseball will lose seven seniors to graduation at the end of the ’09 season: Sam Clark, Mike Siraco, Burdeau, Stowell, Auffant and Co-Captains Lynch and Morlani. The leadership and experience of these seven senior members of the squad was critical to the team’s success this season.
