Fitchburg State Edges Keene State, 8-7
Fitchburg State Edges Keene State, 8-7
Falcons belt three homeruns in non-conference battle
FITCHBURG, Mass. (April 23, 2009) - The Fitchburg State baseball team registered an 8-7 non-conference victory over Keene State College at Owl Athletic Complex on Thursday afternoon.
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Senior Andy Sauer (Willington, Conn./E.O. Smith) led the Fitchburg State 12-hit attack with three hits, including a homerun, two runs scored and three RBI, while sophomore Ricky Graham (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) and senior Aaron Granahan (Thomaston, Conn./Thomaston) chipped in with two hits each. Senior John Davison (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham) added a pinch hit grand slam to round out the Falcons attack.
Senior Jeff Perkins (Dunbarton, N.H./Goffstown) led the Keene State offense with three hits, three runs and two RBI in the contest, while junior Anthony Cipolla (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) and sophomore Bobby Doyon (Keene, N.H./Keene) each drove in two runs for the Owls.
Fitchburg State took an early 2-0 in the first inning on homeruns by Phelan and Sauer, but Keene State rallied back, tying the game at two with a two-run single to left by Donyon in the third.
The Falcons broke open the contest in the top of the sixth inning taking an 8-2 lead with six runs in the frame. Freshman Michal Mercier (Townsend, Mass./Saint Bernards) drove in a run with an infield single, before Davison stepped in and blasted a grand slam over the left field fence for his first homerun of the season.
Keene State rallied late in the contest, scoring four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on a two-run single up the middle by senior Perkins. Cipolla was also solid in the inning, adding a two-run double to right. The Owls made it an 8-7 contest in the bottom of the eighth and threatened in the ninth, but Mercier worked out of a ninth inning jam to earn his first save of the season.
Freshman Tim Thiesing (South Grafton, Mass./South Grafton) took the loss for the Owls (1-1), while junior Nick Ryan (Lowell, Mass./Lowell) earned the win for the Falcons. Ryan allowed only two runs on four hits while striking out five as he improved to 2-0.
Fitchburg State (17-14, 4-8 MASCAC) will be in action again Saturday as it hosts Framingham State College at 2 p.m. Keene State (17-14, 5-6 LEC) will travel to Plymouth State on Friday at 3:30 p.m.