Fitchburg State Shuts Down Gordon, 7-2

Lozada earns first collegiate victory with seven strong innings on the mound

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (March 11, 2013) – The Fitchburg State baseball team registered its second victory of the season after downing Gordon College, 7-2 at Lake Region High School in Winter Haven, Florida this afternoon.

Freshman Javier Lozada (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) tossed a gem for the Falcons, going seven strong innings to earn his first collegiate victory on the mound. Lozada finished with just two runs and seven hits allowed, while striking out five.

At the plate, newcomer Pierce Hans (Washington Township, N.J./Westwood) provided the big spark for Fitchburg State, hitting 2-for-5 with a double, homerun, one run scored and two RBI, while senior Randy Ortiz, Jr. (Danielson, Conn./Killingly) continued his hot hitting with a 2-for-4 afternoon (2 RBI). Six other Falcons registered hits in the contest, including sophomore Brendan Cutler (Lancaster, Mass./Clinton) who added an RBI single.

Fitchburg State opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning, plating one run on a RBI single from Ortiz. The Falcons added a run in the third with Ortiz crossing the plate but Gordon rallied for a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to knot the score at 2-2.

The Falcons responded in the bottom of the frame, posting four runs on two hits and two walks. Junior Alex Heroux (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) put Fitchburg State up by two with a two-run triple, before Hans stepped in and belted a two-run homerun over the left center wall for a four run advantage (6-2). Cutler wrapped up the scoring with his RBI single in the seventh.

Senior Zachary Bombria (Bolton, Conn./Bolton) closed out the contest for Fitchburg, tossing two innings of shutout relief. Bombria limited Gordon to just one hit, while striking out three and walking none.

Fitchburg State (2-1, 0-0 MASCAC) will be back in action tomorrow as it battles the University of Pittsburgh at Pirate City starting at 12 p.m.