Simone, Dembitzki Lift Baseball To 7-6 Nightcap Win At Worcester State And Split Of MASCAC Twinbill

MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME BASEBALL

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Lyons Diamond, Worcester, Mass.

GAME #1 FINAL:          WORCESTER STATE 4, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 3

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

WORCESTER, Mass. --  Freshman Jackson Simone’s (Seattle, Wash.) RBI single in the top of the sixth plated what proved to be the winning run as Massachusetts Maritime gained a split of a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader with Worcester State by notching a 7-6 nightcap victory Sunday afternoon at Lyons Diamond.  In the opener, freshman Ben Palatino’s (Hudson, Mass.) run-scoring double capped a three-run fourth inning rally that enabled the host Lancers to hold on for a 4-3 triumph.

The visiting Buccaneers (7-7, 2-2 MASCAC) took a 1-0 second inning lead in the nightcap before using a three-run rally in the third to extend that margin to 4-0, as a wild pitch and a two-run single off the bat of sophomore Kevin Troy (Braintree, Mass.) accounted for the tallies.  The host Lancers (7-11, 1-3 MASCAC) got two runs back in the bottom of the frame on senior Adam Barry’s (Auburn, Mass.) two-run double, but a sacrifice fly by senior Jake Petruzzelli (Abington, Mass.) and a fielder’s choice gave Massachusetts Maritime a 6-2 fourth inning edge.  Worcester State closed back to within one on Palatino’s infield single in the fourth and Barry’s fifth inning home run, and Simone provided the key insurance tally in the sixth with his single to give the Buccaneers a 7-5 cushion.  The hosts scored a run on a two-out error in the bottom of the second and had the tying and winning runs on base, but Simone got Palatino to fly out to end the contest and earn the split.

Sophomore Robert Dembitzki (North Dartmouth, Mass.) rapped out three of Massachusetts Maritime’s 12 nightcap hits, as Troy and junior Nathan Anderson (East Longmeadow, Mass.) collected two hits each for the winners.  Simone also recorded two hits and earned his first collegiate save in allowing an unearned run over the last two innings, as freshman Matt Smith (Lowell, Mass.) earned his first career victory by going the first 3 2/3 frames on the mound for the Buccaneers.  Barry recorded three of Worcester State’s 14 hits in the second game setback, as Palatino, senior Jake Ryan (Northbridge, Mass.) and freshmen Kenan Kolanda (Sterling, Mass.) and Dezmond Aguirre (Springfield, Mass.) accounted for two hits each for the hosts.  Freshman P.J. Walsh (Bridgewater, Mass.) suffered the defeat on the mound for the Lancers, as he allowed five earned runs over the first three-plus innings of work.

Barry’s sacrifice fly in the first inning of the opener staked Worcester State to an early advantage, but solo homers off the bats of freshman Nick Haley (Hanson, Mass.) and junior Logan Sullo (Acushnet, Mass.) gave Massachusetts Maritime a 2-1 third inning lead.  Sophomore Jimmy Sheehan’s (Oxford, Mass.) two-run double evened matters in the bottom of the fourth for the Lancers, who took the lead for good when Palatino’s two-bagger plated Sheehan.  The Buccaneers pulled to within the final margin in the seventh on junior Connor Kennedy’s (West Barnstable, Mass.) sacrifice fly, but a groundout ended the contest and the visitors’ rally.

Sheehan, Kolanda and freshman Kevin Larkin (Bristol, Conn.) each had two of Worcester State’s seven hits in the lid-lifter in support of sophomore Kyle Sullivan (Hudson, Mass.), who allowed four hits and fanned six over the first six innings of work to improve to 3-0 on the spring.  Sophomore Kyle Baker (Fresno, Calif.) earned his second save of the season after working around a pair of seventh inning hits for the Lancers, while Sullo collected two of Massachusetts Maritime’s six hits in the opening setback.  Freshman Andrew Auld (Wakefield, Mass.) allowed six hits and struck out two over the first five innings of action on the mound for the Buccaneers in falling to 1-3 on the spring.

Massachusetts Maritime hosts Fisher in a non-league outing on Tuesday afternoon at Commodore Hendy Field beginning at 3:30 p.m., while Worcester State hosts Assumption in a non-league clash on Tuesday afternoon at Lyons Diamond that also begins at 3:30 p.m.

(Photo Credit:  Justin Reidy)