Keene State Rallies Past Fitchburg State, 8-5

Falcons drop third consecutive game as offense continues to slump

FITCHBURG, Mass. (April 22, 2010) - The Fitchburg State baseball team suffered its fourth consecutive setback this afternoon, falling to Keene State College, 8-5 in non-conference action.

With the score tied (5-5) in the top of the ninth inning, Keene State rallied for three runs on two hits as sophomore Kyle Morrill (Auburn, N.H./Memorial) belted a three-run triple to right-center field. The Owls opened the inning with a double by Anthony Cipolla (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) and a pair of walks before Morrill stepped in and laced a bases-clearing three bagger for the eventual game-winning runs.

Heading into the eighth frame, Fitchburg State held a slim one run lead (5-4) as the Falcons responded from three runs down. Junior Brian Ware (Beverly, Mass./Beverly) led the Falcons two-run, third inning with a RBI single that plated two, before notching the go-ahead RBI with a seeing-eye single in the seventh.

The Owls quickly answered back, tying the contest in the top of the eighth frame as junior Vincent Ganz (Waterbury, Conn./William Paterson) led off the frame with a single to left and moved into scoring position on a Morrill sacrifice bunt. One batter later, Keene knotted the score at 5-5 as freshman Sean Gavin (Keene, N.H./Keene) delivered a RBI single to left-field, setting up Morrill’s, ninth inning heroics.

Junior John Phelan (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) led Fitchburg State’s six hit approach, finishing 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored, while Ware hit a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI. On the Owl’s side, Cipolla collected a 3-for-4 day with two singles and a double, while Morrill ended 2-for-4 with a team-best three RBI. Junior Bobby Doyon (Keene, N.H./Keene) was also strong, chipping in with a three-run, homerun.

On the hill, junior Kyle Davis (Rochester, N.H./UMass-Lowell) picked up the win for Keene, tossing two innings of one-run relief. Owl sophomore Dan Wogksch (Bethel, Conn./Bethel) hurled a scoreless ninth for his fourth save of the season, while freshman Alex Teal (Malden, Mass./Malden) suffered the loss for the Falcons (1-3), surrendering three runs on two hits and two walks over 1.1 innings of relief.  

Fitchburg State (12-13, 3-5 MASCAC) will be back in action on Saturday as it travels to Mass-Maritime at 12 p.m. Keene State (16-12-1, 5-3 LEC) will visit UMass Boston on Saturday at 12 p.m.

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 Keene 8, Fitchburg State 5