Fitchburg State Splits Season Opener With SUNY IT

Falcons roll 10-4 in game one; fall 7-3 in game two

FITCHBURG, Mass. (March 10, 2013) – The Fitchburg State baseball team opened its 2013 season this afternoon, splitting with the State University of New York (SUNY IT) at Chain O'Lakes Park. The Falcons won the opener 10-4 before falling 7-3 in the nightcap.

In game one, the Falcons bats came alive, roping 12 hits behind a three hit attack from senior Jeff Boice (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury). Boice sparked the Falcons with a  pair of doubles, two runs scored and one RBI, while classmates Cody Bamforth (Vernon, Conn./Rockville) and Randy Ortiz (Danielson, Conn./Killingly) added two hits apiece. Junior Matt Zajac (New Hartford, Conn./St. Paul) was also solid, knocking home two runs with a single and a double.

On the mound, senior Pat Mercier (Townsend, Mass./North Middlesex) was strong in his 2013 debut, totaling five K's in 6.1 innings of work. The veteran hurler limited the Wildcats to only six hits and four runs before giving way to classmate Dylan Smith (New London, Conn./New London), who closed the door in the seventh.

In the night cap, SUNY IT used a nine hit attack to post seven runs and earn the split of the afternoon series. Cody Bamforth suffered the loss for the Falcons (0-1), yielding five runs and eight hits over five innings of work, while senior Zach Bombria (Bolton, Conn./Bolton) tossed the final two innings of the day.

The Wildcats opened the contest with an early 4-0 lead after one inning of play, but Fitchburg State battled back, closing the gap to only one (4-3) in the bottom of the third. Newcomer Dalton Wheeler (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) provided the big spark for the Falcons, connecting on a two-out, two-run single to left center, while AJ Silberman's (Meriden, Conn./Meriden) sac fly gave Fitchburg State its first run in the second.

SUNY IT added four more runs over the final four innings of play however and kept hitters off balance as the Falcons were held to just one hit from the fourth inning on. Zajac sparked the Falcons again with a pair of hits, while Wheeler finished 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI.

Fitchburg State (1-1, 0-0 MASCAC) will be back in action tomorrow as it battles Gordon College at 11:30 a.m.