FALL RIVER – Diman earned an E for its season opener. And that’s not bad news.
“Efficiency today,” Diman coach Flo Lima said after his Bengals edged Bishop Connolly 2-0 in Mayflower Athletic Conference baseball on Monday at John Pacheco Field. “A throwing error by Evan (Arruda). Besides that we played clean infield.”
Arruda can be forgiven for his error. He pitched six innings of four-hit, shutout ball to collect the win. Jacob Sarza worked a perfect seventh, striking out the side on 11 pitches.
Diman scored a second-inning run on two walks and a Daryan Rogers base hit and added insurance in the fifth when Kyle Silvia led with a sharp double to left, tagged to third on Daniel Perron’s deep fly to center, and scored on Kurt Andrade’s double to deep left.
Losing pitcher Paul Poitras worked six innings and allowed five hits. Teammate Austin Medeiros pitched the sixth and survived a leadoff double by Noah Giarad. Center fielder Austin Fernandes ended the threat with a stellar catch of Rogers’ deep wallop.
The Connolly scorebook showed four errors, a total that neither thrilled nor surprised head coach Jay Furtado. This was not only Connolly’s first game of the season but just the third time the Cougars had ventured outdoors this spring.
“It felt like our defense was a little shaky. We knew that was going to happen, being out only three times,” he said. “We’re happy with what we got from Paul Poitras starting. We kept his pitch count down, being early in the season. Took him off the mound there in the sixth. All in all happy with everything but the defense.”
The Connolly defense did shine a couple of times, getting an third-inning-ending catcher-to-pitcher out at home on an almost wild pitch, and executing an 8-6-5 relay to end the Diman fifth.
Andrade was 2-for-2 with a walk.
“We left nine or 11 on base,” Lima said. “Too many. LOBs, we don’t like leaving them on base. But we had one scrimmage, first time seeing live pitching. The bats will come around.
“Evan gutted out a nice win. Sarza, I think, threw 11 pitches. Just efficient today. Today was efficient.”
Diman plays at Blue Hills in an MAC Large Vocational game on Wednesday. Blue Hills and Diman may be among the favorites in the division.
“We always want to contend. We usually contend,” Lima said. Our league, I think, will be pretty competitive this year. It was last year. Blue Hills is always tough. Bristol-Plymouth always gives us a good run. It should be interesting.”
Connolly’s strength may lie in its pitching depth.
“We’ve got some good leadership, seniors Austin Fernandes and Zach Mullis,” Furtado said. “We have a bunch of arms. They’re not great arms, but the numbers I’m excited about.”
The Cougars host Sacred Heart on Wednesday in an MAC Comprehensive game.
Email Greg Sullivan at gsullivan@heraldnews.com. Follow him @GregSullivanHN.