Baseball Swept by Fitchburg State in MASCAC Doubleheader

FITCHBURG, Mass. -- The Fitchburg State University baseball team swept a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) doubleheader against visiting Bridgewater State University on Saturday afternoon at Coolidge Park.

Fitchburg State won the opener in come-from-behind fashion, 6-5 in eight innings, and completed the sweep with a 3-0 victory in game two.

The host Falcons improve to 9-11-2 on the season and 3-2-1 in the MASCAC, while the visiting Bears fall to 4-15 overall and 0-6 in conference play.

Game One

Fitchburg State rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and won the game in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the eighth.

Andrew Currie (Quincy, Mass.) sliced a base hit down the right field line with two outs in the eighth scoring Drew Mazzeo (Leicester, Mass.) from third base with the game-winning run.

Bridgewater State jumped out in front in the top of the first inning on a two-run single off the bat of Alex Carey (East Bridgewater, Mass.). RBI singles by Sean Casey (Braintree, Mass.) in the second and Lewis Robinson (New Britain, Conn.) in the third staked the Bears to a 4-0 advantage.

In the bottom of the third, Noah Milliard (Leominster, Mass.) singled through the infield scoring Brandon Lefebvre (Leominster, Mass.) from second base to get the Falcons on the board.

Bridgewater got the run back on Kevin Bresciani's (Hopedale, Mass.) run scoring base hit in the top of the seventh to make it a 5-1 game.

In the eventful bottom of the seventh, an RBI single by Currie and a two-run single by Brennan Cuddahy (Leominster, Mass.) cut the Falcon deficit to 5-4. A key BSU infield error with two outs allowed the tying run to score and sent the game into extra innings.

Andrew Dunn (Danvers, Mass.) picked up the win in relief for Fitchburg State. Dunn (2-1) threw 1.1 innings allowing just one hit with a strikeout. Shawn Smeglin (Wakefield, Mass.) took the loss for the Bears as he gave up a run on three hits with a strikeout in an inning of relief.

Bridgewater wasted an outstanding effort from starter Connor Birch (Bellingham, Mass.). Birch worked the first six innings allowing just one run on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

The Bears banged out 13 hits in the game, but left 12 runners on base. Casey went 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI to pace the 13-hit attack, while Carey was 2-for-4 with a walk, run and two RBI. Bresciani finished 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Tyler Morini (Plymouth, Mass.) and Matt Levasseur (Milton, Mass.) also finished with multiple hits. Morini went 2-for-5 with a run, while Levasseur doubled and singled in five at bats.

Game Two

Richard Sharp (Townsend, Mass.) tossed a complete game, three-hit shutout to lead the Falcons to the 3-0 win in game two and a sweep of the twinbill. Sharp (1-1), who fanned three and did not issue a walk, set down the first 12 batters he faced before giving up a leadoff single to Carey in the top of the fifth. He also set down the side in order in the sixth.

Nicholas Cordeau (Melrose, Mass.) opened the bottom of the first inning with a base hit, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, to third on Milliard's single and scored on Sean Maki's (Fitchburg, Mass.) fielder's choice groundout.

The hosts added two more runs in the second inning on a bases load walk by Cordeau and a Currie sacrifice fly.

Jacob Robbins (Middleboro, Mass.) went the distance on the mound for Bridgewater State in the setback. Robbins (1-3) allowed three runs on seven hits over six innings with two walks and three strikeouts.

The MASCAC schedule continues for both teams on Patriot's Day. The Falcons travel to Westfield State University, while the Bears head to MCLA. Both doubleheaders will get underway at noon.