MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME BASEBALL

2015 MASCAC Semifinals

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Commodore Hendy Field, Buzzards Bay, Mass.

GAME #1 FINAL:          WORCESTER STATE 6, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 1

                                    (Massachusetts Maritime eliminated)

GAME #2 FINAL:          SALEM STATE 7, FRAMINGHAM STATE 0

GAME #3 FINAL:          WORCESTER STATE 4, FRAMINGHAM STATE 0

                                    (Framingham State eliminated)

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. --  Salem State is in the driver’s seat in the 2015 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Championships, as the second-seeded Vikings received three RBI from freshman Jose Cedano (Lawrence, Mass.) to advance to Sunday’s title game with a 7-0 semifinal round victory over fourth-seeded Framingham State Saturday afternoon at Massachusetts Maritime’s Commodore Hendy Field.

The Vikings, who improve to 24-12 overall with the triumph, will meet third-seeded Worcester State for the second straight season in the MASCAC championship round beginning at 11:00 a.m. Sunday morning at Commodore Hendy Field, as the Lancers eliminated top-seeded Massachusetts Maritime by a 6-1 final in the day’s opening game before receiving a combined two-hit shutout from senior Joe Perlak (Chicopee, Mass.) and sophomore Tyler Barrie (Oxford, Mass.) in a 4-0 win over Framingham State in the last contest of the semifinal round.

Salem State got all of the runs it would need by tallying four times in their opening at-bat, as RBI singles off the bats of senior Ryan Beliveau (Lynn, Mass.) and freshman Dan Connors (Danvers, Mass.) sandwiched a two-run error.  Cedano added a run-scoring single in the third and plated the final two Viking runs in the seventh on a double to close out the scoring, and junior Sean Buckland (Lynn, Mass.) took care of the rest on the mound, as he scattered five hits and struck out nine in going the distance to improve to 3-1 on the season.

Sophomore Andrew Deloury (Andover, Mass.) rapped out three of Salem State’s 11 hits in the triumph, while Cedano and sophomore Teghan Malionek (Salem, Mass.) each added a pair of hits for the Vikings.  Five different players collected singles in the middle game setback for Framingham State (26-18), as junior Dillon Corliss (Winterport, Maine) allowed just five earned runs and fanned three over 7 1/3 innings of work to fall to 4-5 on the season.

Run-scoring singles by senior Zach George (Attleboro, Mass.) and sophomore Jake Ryan (Whitinsville, Mass.) in the bottom of the third of the nightcap gave Worcester State (26-15) all the runs they would need to advance to the championship round, as the Lancers added single tallies in the fifth on sophomore Adam Barry’s (Auburn, Mass.) sacrifice fly and in the sixth on an RBI double off the bat of senior Nick Gikas (Danvers, Mass.) to close out the scoring.  Sophomore Mike Powers (Weymouth, Mass.) rapped out three of Worcester State’s 10 hits, while Gikas chipped in with a pair of hits in the win.  Perlak allowed two hits and overcame five walks to strike out four over the first seven innings of work on the mound to improve to 7-1 on the spring for the Lancers, while Barrie recorded the final six outs (three via strikeout) to earn his third save.  Senior Mark Mainini (Hull, Mass.) collected his second hit of the day in the elimination game setback for Framingham State, as freshman Kevin Connolly (Bolton, Mass.) allowed six hits and three runs over the first four frames for the Rams to fall to 5-2 on the season.

Barry’s RBI single staked Worcester State to a 1-0 first inning lead in the opening elimination game of the day, and the Lancers added four runs in the second on run-scoring singles off the bats of Gikas and George that sandwiched a two-run throwing error.  The host Buccaneers, who fell to 17-12 with the setback, plated their lone run in the eighth on sophomore Jonah Olsen’s (Falmouth, Mass.) RBI single, and Worcester State closed out the scoring in the ninth on George’s second run-scoring safety of the morning.

George and Powers, along with seniors David Ruggiero (Peabody, Mass.) and Cody Osburn (Sacramento, Calif.), collected two hits each to pace a 12-hit attack for Worcester State, as senior Jared Kuzio (Franklin, Mass.) went the distance on the mound for the Lancers, allowing an unearned run and fanning five while throwing 84 of his 136 pitches for strikes to improve to 5-1 on the season.  Eight different players recorded in the setback for Massachusetts Maritime, as junior Alex Rozak (Plymouth, Mass.) allowed three earned runs and struck out a pair over the first two frames to fall to 4-2 on the spring for the Buccaneers.

Worcester State is looking for its second straight MASCAC tournament title, as the Lancers topped Salem State by a 5-3 final in the 2014 championship game after the Vikings had forced a second contest with a 9-5 triumph.  The 2015 MASCAC tournament champion earns the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division III New England Regionals that begin on Wednesday, May 13^th at Whitehouse Field in Harwich, Mass.

The remaining schedule for the 2015 MASCAC Baseball Championships is as follows:

Thursday, April 30 – Single Elimination Round

Game #1:  #4 Framingham State 5, #5 Westfield State 1

Game #2:  #3 Worcester State 7, #6 Fitchburg State 1

Friday, May 1 – Second Round/Start of Double Elimination Format

Game #3:  #4 Framingham State 6, #1 Massachusetts Maritime 3

Game #4:  #2 Salem State 6, #3 Worcester State 0                                 

Saturday, May 2 – Semifinal Round (Commodore Hendy Field, Buzzards Bay, Mass.)

Game #5:  #3 Worcester State 6, #1 Massachusetts Maritime 1 (Massachusetts Maritime eliminated)

Game #6:  #2 Salem State 7, #4 Framingham State 0

Game #7:  #3 Worcester State 4, #4 Framingham State 0 (Framingham State eliminated)

Sunday, May 3 – Championship Round (Commodore Hendy Field, Buzzards Bay, Mass.)

Game #8:  #2 Salem State (24-12) vs. #3 Worcester State (26-15)                         11:00 am

Game #9:  #2 Salem State (24-12) vs. #3 Worcester State (26-15)  (If necessary – 30 min. following)

(Photo courtesy Assistant Equipment Manager Russell Cole)