Fitchburg State Nips Daniel Webster, 8-7 (10 inn)

Bamforth drives home Falcons' game-winning run in bottom of the tenth

FITCHBURG, Mass. (March 28, 2012) – The Fitchburg State baseball team rallied for one run in the bottom of the tenth inning to collect an 8-7 non-conference victory over Daniel Webster College at Riccards Field this afternoon.

In the bottom of the tenth inning, Fitchburg State broke a 7-7 deadlock, scoring one run on a pair of hits, including the game-winning single from junior Cody Bamforth (Vernon, Conn./Rockville). Classmate Jeff Boice (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) led off the inning with a double to right center and advanced to third on a Chris Rivera (New Britain, Conn./New Britain) sac bunt before scoring on Bamforth's base-knock.

Daniel Webster jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the opening frame, collecting back-to-back run scoring hits. Fitchburg State quickly gained the lead as they batted around, scoring six runs in the bottom of the first for a four run advantage (6-2), capped by a two run double off the bat of AJ Silberman (Meriden, Conn./Wilcox Tech).

The Falcons extended their lead to 7-2 in the third inning on a sac fly by Silberman, but the Eagles cut the deficit to one (7-6) in the fourth, highlighted by a two run single by Kyle Brigham (Hudson, N.H./Alvirne) and a run scoring single by Korey LeLievre (Hudson, N.H./Alvirne).

Daniel Webster completed its comeback trail in the sixth, knotting the score at 7-7 with an RBI single from Brigham, but Fitchburg State had the final say in the tenth, setting the stage for Bamforth's clutch hit.

Sophomore Zachary Bombria (Bolton, Conn./Bolton) (2-1) picked up the win for Fitchburg State, allowing one hit over 1.0 IP (2K's). Junior Pat Mercier (Townsend, Mass./Saint Bernards) went to first nine innings for the Falcons, yielding seven runs (five earned) on ten hits and eight K's, while junior Rich Lizotte (West Warwick, RI./West Warwick) suffered the setback for Daniel Webster, allowing one run on three hits in 1.2 innings of relief.

Rivera led the Falcons offensively, going 3-for-5 with a run scored, while Silberman finished 2-for-4 with a double, three RBI and one run scored. Bamforth was also solid, hitting 2-for-5, with a double, two RBI and a run scored. Brigham led the visitor with a 3-for-5 day, including a trio of RBI, while LeLievre added a double, run scored and a pair of RBI.

Fitchburg State (3-11, 0-0 MASCAC) returns to action on tomorrow as it travels to Curry College at 3:30 p.m. Daniel Webster (5-10, 2-4 NECC) returns to the mound on Saturday as it travels to Lesley University for a twin billing starting at 1 p.m.