MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME BASEBALL

Monday, April 16, 2012

Commodore Hendy Field, Buzzards Bay, Mass.

GAME #1 FINAL:                   FITCHBURG STATE 5, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 2

                                                                           123          456          7                              R             H             E

Fitchburg State (8-19, 2-5 MASCAC)                   021          100          1              -               5              9              3

Massachusetts Maritime (9-13, 2-5 MASCAC)     020          000          0              -               2              8              3

BATTERIES

FIT:         Pat Mercier and Matt Zajac

MMA:       Tyler Smith, Jared Lowe (7) and Matt Pelletier

WP:         Mercier (2-2)          LP:           Smith (1-1)

GAME #2 FINAL:                   MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 7, FITCHBURG STATE 6

                                                                           123          456          7                              R             H             E

Fitchburg State (8-20, 2-6 MASCAC)                   020          103          0              -               6              10            2

Massachusetts Maritime (10-13, 3-5 MASCAC)   111          400          x              -               7              9              3

BATTERIES

FIT:         Frank Yavorosky, Zach Bombria (4) and Matt Zajac

MMA:       Zac Cooney, Chris Gallagher (6), Jared Lowe (7) and Ben Maher, Matt Pelletier (6)

WP:         Cooney (2-3)         LP:           Yavorosky (1-3)     Save:       Lowe (3)                 Home Run:  FIT – Mike Szajner (2)

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. --  Senior Billy Shouldice (Rutland, Vt.) rapped out three hits and drove in a pair of runs as Massachusetts Maritime posted a 7-6 nightcap victory to gain a split of a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader with Fitchburg State Monday afternoon at Commodore Hendy Field.  The visiting Falcons received a complete-game effort from junior Pat Mercier (Townsend, Mass.) to notch a 5-2 triumph in the lid-lifter.

Junior Zach Sullivan (Barnstable, Mass.) gave the host Buccaneers (10-13, 3-5 MASCAC) a 3-2 third inning lead in the nightcap with an RBI single that plated Shouldice, who led off the frame with a double, but Fitchburg State (8-20, 2-6 MASCAC) evened matters in the fourth on junior Mike Szajner’s (Leominster, Mass.) solo home run, his second of the spring.  Massachusetts Maritime took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth with a four-run rally, as Shouldice’s RBI single was followed by a two-run triple off the bat of junior Aram Mulhern (Taunton, Mass.) that gave the hosts a 6-3 lead.  Sophomore Ben Maher (Plymouth, Mass.) followed with a run scoring single that scored Mulhern, and that tally proved to be the difference in the contest, as the Falcons rallied for three runs in the sixth on a two-run double by junior Matt Zajac (New Hartford, Conn.) and an RBI single off the bat of junior Randy Ortiz (Danielson, Conn.).  The visitors loaded the bases with two outs in the inning, but Buccaneer sophomore Chris Gallagher (East Sandwich, Mass.) induced a groundout to end the threat, and senior Jared Lowe (Brimfield, Mass.) recorded the final three outs to preserve the Massachusetts Maritime triumph.

Freshman Bobby Rosano (North Reading, Mass.) added two hits in the second game victory for the Buccaneers, as freshman Zac Cooney (East Bridgewater, Mass.) earned his second victory of the season for the hosts in allowing three earned runs and fanning three over five-plus innings.  Lowe allowed a one-out single in the seventh but induced a pair of fly balls to record his third save for Massachusetts Maritime, which rapped out nine hits in the nightcap.  Zajac collected two hits and drove in three runs in the second game setback for Fitchburg State, which also received two hits each from sophomores Patrick McMahon (South Windsor, Conn.) and David Mason (Leominster, Mass.) as part of a 10-hit attack.  Senior Frank Yavorosky (Westminster, Mass.) suffered the setback on the mound for the Falcons, allowing six earned runs and fanning two to fall to 1-3 on the spring.

Fitchburg State jumped out to a 2-0 second inning lead in the opener on an RBI double by junior A.J. Silberman (Meriden, Conn.) and a McMahon run-scoring single, but Massachusetts Maritime evened matters in the bottom of the frame on freshman Gabrielle Malaki’s (San Diego, Calif.) RBI bunt single and an error.  Zajac’s RBI single in the third gave the Falcons the lead for good, and the visitors tacked on single tallies in the fourth on a run-scoring double by junior Chris Rivera (New Britain, Conn.) and on junior Cody Bamforth’s (Vernon, Conn.) bunt single in the seventh to account for the final score.  Rivera led a nine-hit Fitchburg State attack in the opener in support of Mercier, who allowed an earned run and struck out three to improve to 2-2 on the season.  Maher and sophomore Bob Lee (Braintree, Mass.) each rapped out two hits as part of an eight-hit attack for Massachusetts Maritime in the opener, as freshman Tyler Smith (Bellingham, Mass.) struck out six over six innings to fall to 1-1 for the Buccaneers.

Massachusetts Maritime heads to New London, Conn. on Thursday afternoon to take on Coast Guard in a non-league outing that begins at 3:30 p.m., while Fitchburg State hosts Fisher in a non-league clash on Tuesday in Fitchburg, Mass. beginning at 4:00 p.m.