Fitchburg State Splits Season-Opener With Wentworth

Falcons notch 3-1 victory in game one; Wentworth posts 9-8 walk-off in nightcap  

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (March 12, 2011) – The Fitchburg State baseball team opened its 2011 campaign this afternoon, posting a 1-1 split with Wentworth at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven, Fla. The Falcons notched a 3-1 victory in game one before falling to the Leopards, 9-8 in the nightcap. 

Fitchburg State 3, Wentworth 1

In the day opener, Fitchburg State received a strong outing from starting pitcher Michal Mercier (Townsend, Mass./Saint Bernards) who collected his first victory of the season with six strong innings of work. Mercier limited the Leopards to only one unearned run, scattering six hits and two walks while striking out four.

Offensively, Falcon freshman David Mason (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) paved the way, hitting a perfect 3-for-3 with a trio of singles. Senior John Phelan (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) was also strong with a 2-for-4 performance, including a single, double and one run scored, while senior Dave Alexander (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) provided the big blast with a two-run double in the fifth.

Wentworth got on the board first in game one's pitching duel, posting an unearned run in the fourth inning with an RBI double off the bat of freshman Paul Dassau (Franklin, Mass./Franklin).  Fitchburg State responded just one inning later, using a three, hit, three run rally to grab a 3-1 advantage. Phelan started the rally with a one-out double down the left field line before senior Erik DiMauro (Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro) followed with an RBI base-hit up the middle to knot the score (1-1). Alexander followed suit just two batters later, blasting an RBI double to right-center to the two-run advantage..

Senior Marshall Miller (Greenfield, Mass./Greenfield) worked a scoreless seventh to earn his first save of the season.

Wentworth 9, Fitchburg State 8

In the nightcap, Wentworth rallied from three runs down, posting four runs on five hits over the final two frames to earn a 9-8 walk off victory.

Senior Mike Diodato (Asbury, N.J./Warren Hill Regional) sparked the Leopards comeback with an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh to tie the score at 8-8 and later scored to win the contest after Dassau laid down a successful suicide squeeze.  Junior Connor Flisnik (Marcy, N.Y./Whitesboro) was also solid in Wentworth's late inning rally, connecting for an RBI double in the sixth, while sophomore Ryan Delgado (Wareham, Mass./Upper Cape Cod Tech) added a pair of base-hits in the scoring surge.

Fitchburg State battled throughout the entire contest, turning a 5-1 deficit into an 8-5 lead by the sixth frame. The Falcons cut the Leopard lead to only one (5-4) in the top of the fifth inning as Phelan and sophomore Jeff Boice (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) connected for a pair of RBI singles, while Mason, Phelan and senior Nick Rocheleau (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) all added run-scoring hits in the sixth.

Phelan led the Falcons game-two charge with a 3-for-4 performance, including a double, two runs scored and three RBI, while Rocheleau and sophomore Matt Zajac (New Hartford, Conn./St. Paul) finished with two singles apiece. Mason rounded out the Falcons top hitters with a 1-for-3 game, two runs scored and one RBI.

Sophomore John Chase (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) suffered the loss in relief for Fitchburg State, allowing two earned runs on two hits in just 0.1 innings of work. Classmate Alex Teal (Malden, Mass./Malden) worked the first five innings for the Falcons, scattering six earned runs and eight hits with four K's.