Fitchburg State Drops A Pair To Worcester State

Falcons edged 2-1 in game one; suffered 5-4 defeat in nightcap

FITCHBURG, Mass. (April 26, 2011) – The Fitchburg State baseball team suffered a MASCAC doubleheader sweep to visiting Worcester State University this afternoon. The Lancers edged the Falcons 2-1 in the opener and held one to a 5-4 victory in the nightcap.

Worcester State 2, Fitchburg State 1

Game one proved to be a pitcher's duel as Fitchburg State sophomore Alex Teal (Malden, Mass./Malden) and Worcester State's Bobby DeVito (Webster, Mass./Bartlett) battled all contest. The Lancers were able to hold off a late Falcon comeback, taking the opener, 2-1 for their seventh MASCAC victory of the season.

On the hill, Teal was strong for Fitchburg State, firing all seven innings with eight strikeouts and only six hits allowed. DeVito mirrored Teal over his six-inning outing for Worcester State, scattering five hits and one run, while fanning five.

Senior Nick Fluegge (Ware, Mass./Ware) provided the big spark for the Lancers, connecting for a solo homerun in the first, while classmate Corey McDonald (Hudson, Mass./Hudson) plated a Worcester State run with a single through the left side in the fifth.

Fitchburg State cut its deficit in half over the fifth frame as junior Frank Yavorosky (Westminster, Mass./Narragansett) plated senior John Phelan (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) with an RBI single. Phelan started the Falcons, two-out rally with a walk and later stole second for his 53rd career steal, the program's all-time mark. The steal set up the Falcons first run of the contest as Yavorosky followed with an RBI base-knock to right.

Trailing 2-1 heading into the final frame, Fitchburg State was able to put the lead-off runner on with a walk, but sophomore closer Shaun Slattery (Gardner, Mass./Gardner) worked out of the jam to register his seventh save of the season. With one out, Phelan drove a shot to the right-center gap, but sophomore Chris Creen (Worcester, Mass./St. John's) had a good jump on the ball, tracked it down and doubled up the Falcons runner to end the game.

Yavorosky led the Falcons offensively, hitting 2-for-3 with one RBI, while senior Dave Alexander (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) finished 1-for-1 with a pair of walks. Fluegge paced the Lancers attack, going 2-for-3 with a double, a homerun and one RBI, while McDonald also finished with a pair of hits and one RBI.

Worcester State 5, Fitchburg State 4

In the nightcap, Worcester State again held off a late inning, Fitchburg State comeback, posting a 5-4 victory for its 21st victory of the season.

The Lancers got on the scoreboard first, plating a trio of runs in the top of the second inning for an early 3-0 lead. Metzger sparked the Lancer rally with an RBI single, while freshman JD Salinas (Fredericksburg, TX/Our Lady of Hills) and McDonald connected for back-to-back run scoring doubles.

Worcester State added pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning, using two hits and one Falcon error in the process. The big blow of the inning came off the bat McDonald, who laced an RBI double to deep left field and later scored on an errant Fitchburg State throw.

The Falcons cut the Lancer lead to three (5-2) in the bottom of the fifth stanza, taking advantage of a costly error with two outs. Senior Erik DiMauro (Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro) reached on the Worcester State miscue and moved to third as Phelan belted a double to left field.  Yavorosky followed suit one batter later, putting the Falcons on the board with a two-run single to center.

In the sixth, Fitchburg State touched for a pair again,, loading the bases with a single from Alexander and walks from Matt Zajac (New Hartford, Conn./St. Paul) and Eric O'Reilly (Gardner, Mass./Gardner). DiMauro capped the Falcons rally with a line drive to left field, plating the pair and bringing the Falcons within one (5-4).

Fitchburg State continued to threaten in the inning as Phelan followed with another walk to load the bases, but Worcester State called to Slattery to end the Falcons surge. Slattery held Fitchburg State scoreless over the final 1.1 innings to post his eighth save of the season. With two saves on the day, Slattery set a new Worcester State single season record, surpassing the previous mark of seven set by former Lancer, Kevin Hayes last year.

For the Falcons, sophomore Tynan Flegg (Calgary, AB/National Sport Academy) suffered the loss, yielding five runs (four earned) over six innings of work. Junior Cruz Rosado (Clinton, Mass./Worcester Tech) earned the victory for the Lancers, allowing just four hits and four runs (two earned) over the first 5.2 innings of the contest.

Fitchburg State (14-17, 4-8 MASCAC) returns to action on Thursday as it hosts Becker College at 3:30 p.m. Worcester State (21-10, 8-4 MASCAC) will host Newbury College tomorrow at 4 p.m.