Baseball Falls To Blue Jays In RussMatt Invitational Finale

Hurrell paces Green and Gold with three hits

Davenport, FL: The Fitchburg State baseball team dropped a 17-7 decision to the Blue Jays of Saint Joseph (CT) this morning at the RussMatt Invitational from Lake Myrtle Park Field #2 in non-conference action.

THE BASICS:

- Date: 3/16/24

- Score: Fitchburg State 7, St Joseph (CT) 17

- Records: Fitchburg State (4-9, 0-0 MASCAC), St Joseph (5-7, 0-0 GNAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

-  Fitchburg State opened the scoring in the top of the third as junior Joseph DiCrosta (Wallingford, CT) reached on a fielding miscue, advanced to second and third on a single off the bat of senior Matthew Kelly (E. Bridgewater, MA) and s hit by pitch before sophomore Adam Koza (Windham, NH) drove in DiCrosta with a sacrifice fly for the 1-0 advantage. Saint Joseph knotted the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the third when sophomore JJ Fox (Killingworth, CT) walked, stole second and scored on an RBI single to left field by classmate Ethan Reemsnyder (Clinton, CT).

- The Falcons regained the lead in the top of the fifth with junior Jacob Hurrell (Haverhill, MA) doubling to center, advancing to third on single off the bat of Koza and crossing the plate on an RBI single to right from freshman Luke Sterner (Stafford, VA) before Koza scored on a failed pickoff attempt to make the score 3-1.

- The Blue Jays answered back in the bottom of the fifth when junior Ryan Shaw (Ellington, CT) and sophomore Ryan Quinn (Middletown, CT) notched RBI base hits, while newcomer Lawrence Winslow (Melbourne, FL) followed with a two-run single up the middle for the 5-3 margin. The Green and Gold retied the contest at 5-5 in the top of the sixth as Hurrell knocked in DiCrosta with an RBI single through the right side, while Kelly crossed the plate on a double play.

- Saint Joseph regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth with Winslow drawing a bases-loaded walk, while junior Nick Hutson (Queens, NY) followed with a grand slam to left center to make the score 14-5. Fitchburg State responded in the top of the seventh when Kelly singled through the left side driving in junior Cole DuHaime (Warminster, PA) and sophomore Joseph Abt (Newbury, MA) to trim the deficit to 14-7. The Blue Jays secured the victory in the bottom of the seventh as Hutson and Belisle collected RBI's in the frame, resulting in the 17-7 final.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

-  This afternoon's contest marked the first ever meeting between Fitchburg State and St Joseph on the baseball diamond with the Falcons 0-1 all-time when taking on the Bluejays

-  Hurrell led the way for the Falcons, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, one run scored and one RBI

-  Kelly added two hits, one run scored and two RBI for the Green and Gold

-  Sophomore Adam Wholley (Windham, NH) suffered the setback for Fitchburg State, allowing seven runs (5 earned) on eight hits with six strikeouts and three walks over five innings pitched

-  For the Blue Jays, Hutson finished 1-for-5 with a grand slam, one run scored and five RBI

-  Reemsnyder went 3-of-4 with three runs scored and one RBI

-  Freshman Ethan Slowik (Greenville, NY) picked up the win for Saint Joseph, yielding two runs on three hits and walking one over 1.2 innings of relief

UP NEXT:

- Fitchburg State returns to action next Saturday as they host the Terriers of Thomas College for a non-conference twin billing, starting at 12:00PM.

- For the latest on Fitchburg State University Athletics, follow the Falcons via social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.