Suffolk Downs Fitchburg State, 7-1

Ortiz finishes a perfect 1-for-1 with two walks to cap Falcons Florida trip

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (March 15, 2012) – The Fitchburg State baseball team wrapped up its 2012 Florida trip this afternoon, falling to Suffolk University, 7-1 at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven, Florida.

Suffolk got on the board first, plating two runs in the top of the first inning as Jhonneris Mendez (Boston, Mass./Boston English) connected for an RBI double to left center field and Mitch Monke (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield North) slipped an RBI single through the right side.

The Rams added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth, taking advantage of a crucial Falcon error. Monke connected for the big hit again, driving in two with single up the middle, while Mike Muse (Milton, Mass./Milton) chipped in with a single to left to plate a run.

The Falcons got a run back in the top of the sixth inning but single runs in the sixth and eighth clinched the victory for the Rams. Sophomore Devon Jones (Roslindale, Mass./Catholic Memorial) capped the game's scoring with a homerun in the bottom of the eighth.

Mendez earned the victory for the Rams, tossing eight strong innings. The junior pitcher scattered five hits, yielding just one unearned run while striking out ten. Counterpart, Perry Russo (East Hartford, Conn./East Hartford) suffered the loss for the Falcon (0-2), allowing six runs (two earned) on ten hits, while fanning eight.

On the offensive side, Fitchburg State only mustered five hits throughout the contest, including singles from Chris Rivera (New Britain, Conn./New Britain), Pat McMahon (S. Windsor, Conn./S. Windsor), David Mason (Leominster, Mass./Leominster), Ryan O'Sullivan (Greenfield, Mass./Greenfield) and Ortiz.

Fitchburg State (1-7, 0-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Tuesday as it travels to Anna Maria College at 3:30 p.m. Suffolk (3-3-1, 0-0 GNAC) will battle Oswego State tomorrow at 12 p.m.