Fitchburg State Splits At MCLA

Falcons battle to 4-2 victory in game one; edged 7-6 in nightcap

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. (April 10, 2009) - The Fitchburg State baseball team battled to a two-game split with MASCAC foe, MCLA this afternoon. The Falcons battled to a 4-2 victory in game before falling in extra innings, 7-6 in the nightcap.

Fitchburg State 4, MCLA 2

Senior Kris Breen (Griswold, Conn./Griswold) led the Fitchburg State offense with a multi hit effort, going 2-for-4 with a double and one run scored, while freshman Michal Mercier (Townsend, Mass./Saint Bernards) finished a perfect 2-for-2 with a walk, run scored and one RBI.

Senior Andy Sauer (Willington, Conn./E.O. Smith) pitched a solid outing for Fitchburg State, scattering seven hits and allowing only two runs in going the distance to pick up the win. The MCLA bats were silenced most of the game as Sauer registered three strikeouts and yielded only one walk.

Fitchburg scored four runs early highlighted by a three-run, second inning; an inning that featured three Trailblazer errors. The Falcons registered back-to-back singles from senior Breen and junior Ricky Graham (Walpole, Mass./Walpole), while Mercier followed with a sacrifice that turned into a two run error by MCLA's pitcher James Greeley's (Newton, Mass./Newton).

Fitchburg State added one more run in the third on a two-out single by Mercier, while MCLA got a run in the bottom of the second on a Harrington RBI fielder's choice. Sauer shutdown the Trailblazers the rest of the way, while James Greeley (Newton, Mass./Newton) took the loss for MCLA, going six innings and allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY TO FOLLOW

MCLA 7, Fitchburg Sate 6 

In game two, sophomore Will Comerford (Ayer, Mass./Ayer) paced the Falcons, hitting 2-for-4 with one run scored and two RBI, while sophomore John Phelan (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) added two hits and one RBI. Sauer was also solid with a double, one run scored and one RBI.

Fitchburg State jumped ahead early again by scores of 4-1 and 6-4 before MCLA rallied a third time in extra innings to win in dramatic fashion.  Fitchburg State opened the scoring early in the second inning, plating four runs on three walks and a line drive single by Comerford.  Junior Matt Morrison (Beverly, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) and Phelan followed with RBI singles  to give the Falcons the 4-1 edge. MCLA rallied back in the bottom of the third, knotting the score at 4-4 on a three-run homerun by Cory Burtman (Norwood, Mass./Norwood).

The Falcons went ahead in the fifth with a pair of runs on three hits, including an RBI double by Sauer, but MCLA bounced back again in the bottom of the frame on a long two-run homer by Joe Parillo (West Springfield, Mass./West Springfield). MCLA later clinched the victory in extra frames, scoring on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth.

Freshman Tyler Kendrick (Montague, Mass./Smith Academy) suffered the loss for the Falcons in relief, yielding three runs on three hits in 3.2 innings of work. Andrew Gaines (Holyoke, Mass./Holyoke) picked up the win in relief allowing one run in four innings of work.

Fitchburg State (13-9, 2-4 MASCAC) will be back in action on Monday as it travels to Springfield College at 3:30 p.m. MCLA (12-6, 4-2 MASCAC) will travel to Williams College on Monday at 4 p.m.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY TO FOLLOW