Fitchburg State Upends Rivier, 18-2

Lefebvre drives in four to lead Falcons past Raiders in non-conference action

NASHUA, N.H. – The Fitchburg State University baseball team was in action this evening defeating the Raiders of Rivier University, 18-2 in non-conference action at Raider Field.

The Falcons erupted for eight runs in the top of the second inning as freshman Matthew Pingitore plated senior Mike St. John and junior Andrew Mooney with a fielder's choice and throwing miscue before newcomer Brandon Lefebvre, junior Sean Maki and freshman Brennan Cuddahy added run scoring base hits for the 8-0 advantage.

Rivier responded with a single run in the bottom half of the second when senior Adam Arkell singled, moved to third on a ground out and scored following a sacrifice fly to right off the bat of freshman Jamie Brigham to make the score 8-1 after two innings of play.

Fitchburg State upped its margin (14-1) in the top of the third as Lefebvre doubled in senior Nathan Littman and freshman Joshua Macomber, while sophomore Noah Milliard brought home Mooney and Cuddahy later in the stanza with a two run double down the right field line.

The Falcons extended their lead in the top half of the seventh when newcomer Timothy Horton walked, advanced to second and third on a hit by pitch and fielding miscue before classmate Brendan O'Flaherty drew a bases loaded walk to score Horton for the 15-1 margin.

The Raiders cut into the deficit in the bottom of the seventh as freshman Eric Maxfield was hit by a pitch, moved to third on base hit by classmate Brennan Reeves and scored on a ground ball to third by Brendan Sullivan, resulting in the 18-2 final.

The Green and Gold were led by Lefebvre, who went 2-for-4 at the dish with a double, two runs scored and four RBI, while Milliard added a 3-for-4 effort at the plate, including two doubles, one run scored and a pair of RBI.

For Rivier, sophomore Brett Iannazzo finished 2-for-4, while Reeves, Maxfield, Arkell and junior Jonathan De La Cruz added one hit each for the Raiders.

On the bump, sophomore Evan Meleedy earned the win for the Falcons, allowing just one walk with a pair of K's in two innings of relief, while newcomer Alex DiVito took the loss for the Raiders, yielding 13 runs (ten earned) on five hits with three punch outs in 2.1 innings of work.

Fitchburg State (8-14, 1-3 MASCAC) returns to action on tomorrow as it hosts the Owls of Keene State College for a contest starting at 3:30 P.M. Rivier (1-16, 0-4 GNAC) will host the Owls of UMaine-Presque Isle on Friday at 11:30 A.M.