Johnson and Wales Edges Fitchburg State, 7-6

Drury finishes 4-for-5 in Falcons non-league setback

CRANSTON, R.I. (April 5, 2014) – The Johnson & Wales baseball team defeated Fitchburg State in, 7-6, in a non-conference game on Friday afternoon at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletics Complex.

The Falcons started the scoring for the afternoon with a four-run second inning. Clayton Beaulieu (Chicopee, Mass.) connected on a bases-loaded single scoring Brendan Cutler (Lancaster, Mass.) before a three-run triple by Steven Drury (Ashburnham, Mass.) gave FSC the 4-0 lead. JWU cut into the lead in the bottom half of the third when senior Alex Pezzuto (Hastings, N.Y.) struck a single to right center scoring Brad McParlin (Pawtucket, R.I.) and Rob Bocchetti (East Meadow, N.Y.) to make the score 4-2. Drury and Joe Lyons (W. Roxbury, Mass.) extended the lead for Fitchburg State to 6-2 with back-to-back RBI in the fourth.

Pezzuto poked another two-run single to bring JWU within two, 6-4. Freshman Ryan Cabral (Hope, R.I.) grounded into a fielder's choice which sent home Pezzuto from third to diminish the deficit to 6-5. Pezzuto walked to lead off the seventh which brought sophomore Jordan Pilarski (Garnet Valley, Pa.) to the plate. Pilarski struck a single to left center and an errant throw brought Pezzuto all the way around to score. A pinch-hit single by senior Jack Hocking (Hanover, Mass.) gave the Wildcats a 7-6 lead and they shut the door from there on out as seniors James Harlow (Bristol, Conn.) and Rob Clark (Cranston, R.I.) entered in relief to fend off the Falcons.

Sophomore Nick Cesino (Scituate, R.I.) earned the win for JWU in 2 2/3 innings relief while Clark earned his first save on the year. Pezzuto, Pilarski and Bocchetti had two hits each in the Wildcat victory.

Joe St. Hilaire (Chelmsford, Mass.) suffered the loss for Fitchburg State pitching six innings and giving up just two earned runs while striking out six. Drury went 4-for-5 in the setback for the Falcons.

With the win, Johnson & Wales improves to 16-4 on the season while Fitchburg State falls to 13-7 on the year. Fitchburg State is back in action on Saturday as it battles Framingham State in a MASCAC contest starting at 1 p.m.