Fitchburg State And Endicott Split Day Doubleheader

Gulls take game one with 9-1 victory; Falcons rebound with 5-0 shutout in game two  

LEESBURG, FLA. (March 13, 2011) – The Fitchburg State baseball team grabbed a day doubleheader split with Endicott College this afternoon as the Falcons visited Lake Sumner Community College. The Gulls took game one with a 9-1 victory, while the Falcons rebounded with a 5-0 shutout in game two.

Endicott 9, Fitchburg State 1

In game one, Endicott took advantage of six Fitchburg State errors, posting a 9-1 victory behind a six run, fifth-inning effort.

Junior Colin Sitarz (West Hartford, Conn./Hall) led the Gulls, hitting 1-for-3 with a homerun, two runs scored and four RBI, while classmate Mike Russo (Natick, Mass./Natick) finished 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and one RBI. Senior Chris Dominquez (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) chipped in with a single and one RBI to round out the Endicott game one offense.

Endicott opened the contest with an early 3-0 lead after touching for two runs in the top of the first inning, but the Gulls then broke open the game in the fifth frame, posting six runs on four hits for a 9-0 advantage. The Gulls started the inning off reaching base on three consecutive Falcon errors, before sophomore Eric Lemke (Southington, Conn./Southington) and Dominquez followed with back-to-back singles. Sitarz then stepped in and broke the game open with a grand-slam blast over the left field wall.   

Despite suffering the loss, sophomore Tynan Flegg (Calgary, AB/National Sport Academy) was strong on the mound for the Falcons, yielding zero earned runs over five innings of work. The first-year southpaw was in command all contest, allowing just six hits and one walk, but fell victim to several costly errors in the outing as all nine runs were unearned.

On the offensive side, senior John Phelan (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) paced Fitchburg State with a 3-for-4 day, connecting for three singles on the afternoon, while classmates Brian Ware (Beverly, Mass./Beverly) and Erik DiMauro (Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro) each added a pair of base-hits.

Fitchburg State 5, Endicott 0

Fitchburg State bounced back in the nightcap behind a shutout pitching effort from sophomore Randy Ortiz, Jr. (Danielson, Conn./Killingly). Ortiz collected his first victory of the season in impressive fashion, limiting Endicott to only seven hits while notching three K's.

The game remained scoreless until the top of the fifth inning when Fitchburg State broke its scoring drought, collecting three runs on two hits and one Gull error. Phelan came through the clutch again for the Falcons, plating a pair of runs on an RBI single to left field, while DiMauro executed a suicide squeeze to give Fitchburg State a 3-0 lead.

The Falcons added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh frame as the duo of Ware and Phelan struck again. Ware started the inning off with a line drive single to centerfield before Phelan delivered an RBI double to the left-center gap. Phelan then advanced to third on the second Endicott error of the contest before DiMauro brought him home with a ground out to the right side.

Phelan and Ware did most of the damage for Fitchburg State, combining for four hits, four runs scored and two RBI. Phelan was strong, going 2-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI, while Ware added two singles and two runs scored. DiMauro and sophomore Cody Bamforth (Vernon, Conn./Rockville) wrapped up the Falcons offense with one hit apiece.

Endicott received a solid offensive effort from freshman Tad Gold (Martha's Vineyard, Mass./Martha's Vineyard) who finished the contest 2-for-4 with a double, while Lemke added a 2-for-3 nightcap with a single and a triple.

Fitchburg State (2-2, 0-0 MASCAC) will be back in action tomorrow as it battles Vassar College at 3:30 p.m. Endicott (2-2, 0-0 TCCC) will face Rhode Island College tomorrow starting at 4 p.m.