Falcons Force If Necessary Game To Decide MASCAC Championship With 13-10 Victory Over Owls

Westfield, Mass. – The second seeded Falcons of Fitchburg State defeated the top seeded Owls of Westfield State University, 13-10 this afternoon in championship round of the 2019 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Baseball Post-Season Tournament at the Bud and Jim Hagan Field to force a winner take all if necessary game tomorrow at Westfield State.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 13, Westfield State 10

Records: Fitchburg State (26-15, 13-8 MASCAC) I Westfield State (26-14, 14-7 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Fitchburg State erupted for five runs in the top of the first as junior Joshua Macomber (Berkley, Mass,) brought home sophomore Nicholas Cordeau (Melrose, Mass.) with a sacrifice fly to center, while freshman Vincent Eramo (Shirley, Mass.) and junior Matthew Pingitore (Rutland, Mass.) followed with back-to-back two-run base hits for the 5-0 lead.

Westfield State responded in the bottom of the frame when senior Colin Dunn (Westfield, Mass.) singled down the right field line to plate classmate Anthony Crowley (Bellingham, Mass.) to make the score 5-1.

The Owls cut into the deficit (5-2) in the following stanza with junior Brett Dooley (Cohasset, Mass.) coming in on a wild pitch, but the Falcons broke the contest open in the top of the third as junior Brennan Cuddahy (Leominster, Mass.) delivered a bases clearing down the left field line, while Macomber, Cordeau and junior Brandon Lefebvre (Leominster, Mass.) added RBI's in the frame.

Westfield State answered back in the bottom half of the sixth as Dunn singled to left to bring home sophomore Nick Martin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) before junior Brett Dooley (Cohasset, Mass.) followed with a two-run base knock to cut the lead to 12-6.

The Green and Gold added an insurance run in the top of the eighth with Cordeau reaching on a fielder's choice that plated junior Timothy Horton (Northampton, Mass.) for the 13-6 advantage. The Owls chipped away at the lead in the bottom of the ninth as senior Aaron Clancy (Quincy, Mass.) ripped a two-run single to center and Dooley added a an RBI single to right, but Falcon reliever Andrew Dunn (Leominster, Mass.) induced an game-ending ground out to force the if necessary game for the championship tomorrow.

By The Numbers

• 85th meeting between the two teams with the Falcons 21-64 vs the Owls
• Cuddahy paced the Falcons, hitting 2-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and three RBI
• Cordeau added two hits, three RBI and two runs scored for the Green and Gold
• Dooley finished 5-for-6 with a double, three RBI and one run scored for the Owls
• Adam Somers (Framingham, Mass.) earned the win for Fitchburg State, giving up six runs on eight hits with three K's over five innings pitched
• Ryan Murphy (Walpole, Mass.) went 4.1 innings for the Owls, allowing one run on four hits with two strikeouts

Up Next

Falcons will travel to Westfield State University tomorrow to take on the Owls for the 2019 MASCAC Baseball Championship, starting at 12:00 PM.