Baseball Swept by Fitchburg in MASCAC Twinbill

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The visiting Fitchburg State University baseball team swept a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) doubleheader over Bridgewater State University on Monday afternoon at Alumni Park. The Falcons won the opener by a score of 14-4 and completed the sweep with a 4-2 victory in game two.

The Falcons improve to 11-16 on the season and 4-4 in the MASCAC, while the Bears fall to 7-15 overall and 1-7 in conference play.

Game One: Fitchburg State 14, Bridgewater State 4

In the opener, Fitchburg broke open a close game with a ten-run sixth inning as the Falcons pulled away for the 14-4 victory.

Tyler Smith (New Milford, Conn.) pitched five complete innings and earned his sixth win of the season to lead the Falcons on the mound. Smith (5-3) held the visitors to just one run on six hits and struck out four.

Mike St. John (Rehoboth, Mass.) and Noah Milliard (Leominster, Mass.) highlighted the Falcons' 14-hit attack. St. John went 4-for-4 with a double, a run and three RBI, while Milliard was 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, three runs and three RBI.

Nathan Littman (Abington, Mass.) and Brandon Lefebvre (Leominster, Mass.) also finished with multiple hits for Fitchburg. Littman reached safely three times as he was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, two runs and an RBI. Lefebvre singled and doubled in four at bats. He scored on run and drove in three.

Ryan Kelleher (Danvers, Mass.) paced the BSU offense with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate. Kelleher scored a run and added a sacrifice bunt. Matt Levasseur (Milton, Mass.) was the only Bears with multiple hits as he went 2-for-3 with a sacrifice fly and two RBI.

Two Bridgewater State pitchers were roughed up for 14 runs (all earned) on 14 hits, three walks and two hit batsmen. Justin Jacobsen (Fairhaven, Mass.) drew the loss in 5 1/3 innings of work.

Game Two: Fitchburg State 4, Bridgewater State 2

In game two, Milliard tripled to center field in the first and scored on Sean Maki's (Fitchburg, Mass.) RBI ground out to give Fitchburg the early 1-0 lead.

Ryan Feeney (East Bridgewater, Mass.) answered for the Bears in the bottom of the first with his second home run of the season, a solo shot, to knot the score at 1-1.

In the top of the second, Drew Mazzeo (Leicester, Mass.) singled up to middle and then stole second. Timothy Horton (North Hampton, Mass.) rapped a base hit up to middle to bring in Mazzeo with the Falcons' second run of the game.

The Bears tied it up at 2-2 in the bottom of the third. Feeney singled with two outs, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored when Levasseur reached on an error.

The score remained tied until the top of the sixth inning when the Falcons loaded the bases with one. A grounder back to the mound resulted in a force out at the plate, but the throw to first on the attempted double play was wild allowing Joshua Macomber (Berkley, Mass.) to race home with the go ahead run.

Fitchburg would add another unearned run in the seventh to make it a 4-2 game. Lefebvre reached on a throwing error and scored all the way from first on Mazzeo's RBI double.

Benjamin Chiasson (Maynard, Mass.) tossed 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win for the Falcons. Chiasson (2-0) gave up two hits and a walk with a pair of strikeouts.

Andrew Mooney (Framingham, Mass.) got the start for Fitchburg and allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.

Mazzeo went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, a run and an RBI to highlight the Falcon offense in game two.

Feeney finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a home run, a walk, two runs scored and an RBI to lead the way for the Bears.

Thomas Protentis (Lakeville, Mass.) went the distance on the mound for the Bears in the nightcap. Protentis (0-4) allowed four runs (two earned) on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts. He also hit four batters.

In upcoming action, the Bears host the Fighting Scots of Gordon College on Tuesday afternoon at 3:30. The Falcons travel to Dean College on Friday afternoon for a 3:30 game with the Bulldogs.