Fitchburg State Drops A Pair Against Rhode Island

Falcons fall 13-3 in game one; suffer game two setback, 6-1

AUBURNDALE, Fla. (March 16, 2011) – The Fitchburg State baseball team suffered a doubleheader setback this afternoon, falling to Rhode Island College at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex. Fitchburg State fell 13-3 in game one before falling 6-1 in the nightcap.

Rhode Island 13, Fitchburg State 3

Rhode Island College used a pair of six run innings to cruise to a convincing 13-3 victory in game one.

Behind strong starting pitching from senior Gary Levesque (E. Providence, R.I./E. Providence) and a 13 hit performance, the Anchormen improved to 4-2 on the season. Senior Justin Corso (Cranston, R.I./Cranston West) led the RIC offense, hitting 2-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI, while sophomore Franklin Salcedo (Providence, R.I./Wheeler School)  and classmate Kevin Carey (Wakefield, R.I./South Kingston) combined for four hits, three runs and four RBI.

Fitchburg State's offense was limited throughout the contest, scoring a single run in the fourth and a pair of runs in the sixth. Sophomore Cody Bamforth (Vernon, Conn./Rockville) paced the Falcons with a perfect 3-for-3 effort (2B, 2R), while senior John Phelan (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) finished 2-for-4 with a stolen base and one run scored.

Junior Michal Mercier (Townsend, Mass./Saint Bernards) suffered his first loss of the season on the hill for the Falcons, allowing ten runs (nine earned) and nine hits over the first 4.2 innings of play.

Rhode Island 6, Fitchburg State 1

In the second game, Rhode Island again jumped out to a 6-0 lead by the third inning of play, scoring in each of the first three frames. The Anchormen opened the contest with three runs in the first inning and added a pair of runs in the third to collect their fifth victory of the year.

Junior Kyle Allaire (Uxbridge, Mass./Uxbridge) led the game two offense for Rhode Island, going 3-for-4 with a trio of singles and one run scored. Levesque was also strong with a  2-for-4 performance, one run scored and one RBI, while Carey notched a triple and a run scored.

Fitchburg State was held in check for the second straight contest but received a strong hitting performance from senior Erik DiMauro (Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro), who went 1-for-3 with a single and one RBI. Bamforth and senior Dave Alexander (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) also added to the mix with one hit apiece, while senior Brian Ware (Beverly, Mass./Beverly) notched the Falcons fourth and final hit.

Sophomore Alex Teal (Malden, Mass./Malden) suffered the loss for Fitchburg State, yielding six runs (three earned) in five innings of work. Teal scattered seven hits throughout his outing, walking three and striking out four. Junior Rob Rushton (Freetown, Mass./Apponequet) earned the victory for Rhode Island, tossing six innings of three hit, no run baseball.       

Fitchburg State (2-6, 0-0 MASCAC) will be back in action tomorrow as it battles Saint Joseph's College (Me.) in a single game starting at 9 a.m. Rhode Island (5-2, 0-0 LEC) will face Ramapo College tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.