Fitchburg State Swept By Franklin & Marshall On Day Two

Falcons fall 6-0 in game one; Drop 13-4 decision in the nightcap

AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Fitchburg State University baseball team dropped a pair of game to the Diplomats of Franklin & Marshall College by the scores of 6-0 and 13-4 on day two of its spring trip at the RussMatt Central Florida Baseball Invitational.

Franklin & Marshall 6, Fitchburg State 0 (Game 1)

Franklin & Marshall scored a pair of runs in the first, fourth and sixth innings, en-route to a 6-0 game one win over Fitchburg State.

The Diplomats took the lead in the bottom of the first as senior David Iacobucci walked, moved to second on a single by classmate Christopher Vincent, while freshman Max Schwartz plated both Iacobucci and Vincent with a two run double for the 2-0 margin.

Franklin & Marshall doubled its advantage (4-0) in the fourth inning when senior Tim Daley walked, advanced to second on a base knock from senior Casey Bulk and scored off a single by sophomore Brian Meeholz before junior Dan Marano drove home Balk with a sacrifice fly to center field.

The Diplomats capped the scoring in the bottom half of the sixth as Meeholz reached on a fielding miscue, moved to second on a walk from freshman Justin Cavegh and crossed the plate single by junior Jimmy Whelan, while Marano knocked in Cavegh with a sacrifice fly to left, resulting in the 6-0 game one victory.

Fitchburg State was led by junior Sean Maki, classmate Drew Mazzeo and freshman Brendan O'Flaherty with one hit each, while Schwartz and Marano paced Franklin & Marshall, combining for a double and four RBI.

On the mound, senior Tom Gammell took the loss for the Green and Gold, allowing four earned run on six hits and four K's in five innings of work, while junior Mike Androconis picked up the win for the Diplomats, giving up just three hits with 8 strikeout in the complete game effort.

Franklin & Marshall 13, Fitchburg State 4 (Game 2)

In game two, Franklin & Marshall erupted for 13 runs on 13 hits, en-route to the 13-4 game two win to complete the sweep.

Franklin & Marshall took an early 4-0 lead in the opening frame as Iacobucci, Vincent, Schwartz and junior Danny Blugis drove in runs to start things off. The Diplomats upped its advantage in the following inning when sophomore Kyle Ebert doubled home Iacobucci and Bulk to make the score 6-0.

Fitchburg State broke its scoring silence in the bottom half of the second when Mazzeo walked, stole second and crossed the plated on a run scoring double by freshman Matthew Pingitore to cut the lead to 6-1.

In the following inning, the Falcons answered again as newcomer Alexander Bissanti singled, moved to second on a base hit by junior Nathan Littman and scored off a base knock from senior Mike St. John (7-2).

With the score 8-2, Fitchburg State continued to battle, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth on a home run by Maki and a run scoring single from Mazzeo, but Franklin & Marshalll put the game out of reach in the sixth as Schwartz knocked in Iacobucci with a single to left, resulting in the 13-4 final.

Pingitore paced the Green and Gold, going 2-for-3 with double and one RBI, while Littman went 2-for-3 at the dish with one run scored, a stolen base and one run batted it. For Franklin & Marshall, Iacobucci finished 2-for-3 with three runs scored, two RBI and a homerun, while Ebert added a 2-for-4 effort, including two RBI, two runs scored and a double.

On the bump, freshman Kyle Nocera suffered the loss for the Falcons, yielding seven runs (4 earned) on five hits in 1.2 innings of work, while junior Jack Buckley earned the win for the Diplomats, allowing four earned runs on eight hits as well as eight K's in 4.1 innings.

Fitchburg State (1-3) returns to action tomorrow as it takes on Greenville College for a double header starting at 9:45 a.m. in day three action of the RussMatt Central Florida Baseball Invitational. Franklin & Marshall (3-4) will battle Ripon College tomorrow for a twin bill starting at 1:30 p.m.