MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME BASEBALL

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Commodore Hendy Field, Buzzards Bay, Mass.

GAME #1 FINAL:          MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 7, SALEM STATE 6

GAME #2 FINAL:          SALEM STATE 4, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 1

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. --  Senior Bobby Rosano (North Reading, Mass.) scored on a two-out wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth inning to lead Massachusetts Maritime to a 7-6 victory over Salem State in the opening game of a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader played Sunday afternoon at Commodore Hendy Field.  Junior Sean Buckland (Lynn, Mass.) tossed a complete-game two-hitter and struck out five to give the Vikings a split of the twinbill with a 4-1 nigthcap triumph.

The host Buccaneers (8-8, 3-3 MASCAC) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in their first at-bat of the opener on two-out RBI singles off the bats of senior Greg Downs (Marshfield, Mass.) and sophomore Jonah Olsen (Falmouth, Mass.), but the visiting Vikings (13-8, 3-1 MASCAC) evened matters in the second on a two-run single by sophomore George Tsonis (Peabody, Mass.).  Rosano restored Massachusetts Maritime’s advantage in the bottom of the frame with a two-out triple, and he scored on a throwing error that gave the hosts a 5-2 cushion.  Salem State took advantage of a pair of errors and a hit batsman for a four-run rally in the third that gave the visitors a 6-5 lead, as a two-out, two-run outfield error pulled the Vikings to within one before Tsonis rapped out his second two-run single of the day. 

The Buccaneers evened matters in the bottom of the third when Olsen doubled to right center with two outs and scored on freshman Connor Kennedy’s (West Barnstable, Mass.) RBI single, and that score held up until the sixth when Rosano reached on a two-out error, stole second and third and then scored on a wild pitch that advanced just four feet away from home plate, as he slid under the tag for the deciding tally.  Rosano, Olsen and Connor Kennedy each had two hits as part of a nine-hit opening game attack for Massachusetts Maritime, as junior Kyle Kennedy (Woodbury, Conn.) picked up the win in relief for the hosts, allowing a hit and fanning seven over the final four frames to improve to 1-1 on the season.  Tsonis accounted for two of Salem State’s five hits to go with his four RBI in the setback, as junior Pete Gonski (East Lyme, Conn.) allowed Rosano’s unearned run and struck out two in three innings of relief to fall to 1-2 on the season.

The Vikings took a 1-0 third inning lead in the nightcap on junior Mike Davis’s (Peabody, Mass.) RBI single, and the visitors added a fourth inning run on a run-scoring single off the bat of freshman Dan Connors (Danvers, Mass.) to extend that margin to 2-0.  The Buccaneers sliced their deficit in half in the sixth when freshman William Keane (Braintree, Mass.) scored on a two-out error, but the hosts left the bases loaded to end the frame.  Salem State iced its triumph with two seventh inning insurance runs that came across on a one-out error and closed out the scoring.

Six different Vikings had hits in the second contest in support of Buckland, who allowed a fourth inning single to Keane and a sixth inning single to freshman Logan Sullo (Dartmouth, Mass.) to go with his five strikeouts in improving to 1-1 on the season.  Senior T.J. Notarangelo (Foxboro, Mass.) allowed four hits and two runs over the first four frames for Massachusetts Maritime, as he fell to 1-2 on the season with the setback.

Massachusetts Maritime hosts Bridgewater State in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon at Commodore Hendy Field beginning at 2:00 p.m., while Salem State heads to Medford, Mass. on Monday afternoon to take on Tufts in a non-league outing that begins at 3:00 p.m.