Bridgewater State Nips Fitchburg State, 3-1/7-5

Falcons fall 3-1 in game one; suffer 7-5 setback in nightcap 

BRIDGWATER, Mass. (April 6, 2013) – The Fitchburg State baseball team battled Bridgewater State University this afternoon, falling just short on both ends of the MASCAC doubleheader at Alumni Park. 

The host Bears won the first game, 3-1, and completed the sweep with a 7-5 victory in game two.  With the sweep, Bridgewater improves to 10-8-1 on the season and 2-2 in the MASCAC. Fitchburg slides to 9-9-1 overall and 1-3 in conference play.

In the opener, BSU starting pitcher Patrick Martin (Rockland, Mass.) gave up just one unearned run on four hits as he improved to 4-0 on the season.  The Bears scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the third on RBI singles by Keane Costa (Fairhaven, Mass.) and Trevor Lawson (Easton, Mass.). 

Fitchburg State cuts its deficit to 2-1 in the top of the fourth, taking advantage of a pair of Bear errors. Randy Ortiz (Danielson, Conn.) scored the Falcons lone run after advancing to third on a Pierce Hans (Washington Township, N.J.) double to left field. The Bears added an insurance run in the top of the fifth in and secured the victory with two more scoreless innings from Martin 

Senior Pat Mercier (Townsend, Mass.) suffered his first loss of the season on the hill for the Falcons, yielding three runs (two earned) on eight hits with no walks and five strikeouts. Classmate Jeff Boice (Glastonbury, Conn.) finished with two of Fitchburg State's four hits.

In game two, Sean Riley (Fairhaven, Mass.) broke a 5-5 tie in the sixth inning with his third home run of the season, a two-run blast over the right-field fence. Fitchburg State battled back from a 5-0 deficit, using a three run rally in the fifth and a two run surge in the sixth.  Junior Alex Heroux (Leominster, Mass.) sparked the Falcons sixth inning run with an RBI single to drive home AJ Silberman (Meriden, Conn.) before Ortiz followed by an RBI double to right center.

Riley's late-inning heroics made a winner out of BSU reliever Jake Roderick (Provincetown, Mass.) who worked the final two innings.  Roderick (1-0) gave up two hits in his two innings of work and fanned four.

Ortiz finished 2-for-2 with a walk and two RBI to lead the Falcons game two offense, while Silberman also notched a pair of hits. Zachary Bombria (Bolton, Conn.) took the loss on the mound for Fitchburg State (2-2), allowing seven runs (five earned) on 11 hits with a walk and three strikeouts.

Fitchburg State (9-9-1, 1-3 MASCAC) will be back in action on Tuesday as it visits Lesley University at 7 p.m.