#6 Fitchburg State University at #3 Worcester State University
WORCESTER, Mass. - #6 Fitchburg State University (12-18, 5-9 MASCAC) will travel to #3 Worcester State University (23-14, 10-4 MASCAC) in the opening round of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Baseball Tournament at 3:00 PM on Thursday, April 30.
How they got here:
Fitchburg State enters the tournament after defeating Westfield State in walk-off fashion on the final day of conference play to secure the final playoff spot. The Falcons also picked up crucial conference victories over Massachusetts Maritime Academy (5-1, 4/11) and Framingham State (2-0, 4/4) over the course of the campaign.
The Green & Gold were unable to end the regular season on a high-note, falling to non-conference foe Nichols College on Tuesday, 8-2.
The reigning MASCAC Champion Lancers picked up 10 conference wins over the course of the season, including a trio of sweeps to the hands of Bridgewater State, Fitchburg State, and MCLA.
Worcester State rides a five game win streak into the game, including a walk-off extra-inning victory over UMass Dartmouth on Monday, 11-9.
The last time the two met:
Worcester State picked up a two game sweep over their Sterling Cup rival during the 2015 season in Fitchburg, taking the first game 1-0, then taking the nightcap by a score of 8-2.
Historically speaking:
Worcester State holds a 73-38-2 record overall against Fitchburg State University in the history of the two rival schools. The Lancers defeated the Green & Gold in their last postseason meeting on May 9, 2009 in the ECAC Semi-finals by a score of 9-3.
Skippers corner:
Ryan Parker has led the Falcons to a postseason appearance in his first year at the helm of the Falcons. Prior to arriving at Fitchburg in the summer of 2014 Parker spent eight seasons as pitching coach of his alma mater Wheaton College, while also serving in the same capacity for the Harwich Mariners of the prestigious Cape Cod League from 2008-10.
Dirk Baker is currently in his 20th season as the head coach of the Lancers, while in search of his sixth MASCAC Championship over his tenure. The 2014 MASCAC Coach of the Year entered the season with a 436-221-1 record over a span of 19 seasons.
Who to watch:
Fitchburg State has been led by stellar pitching from their 1-2 punch of Ryan Magni and Kyle Cutler with ERA's of 1.09 and 1.38 respectively. Prior to going down with a mid-season injury Magni was ranked in the top three nationally for earned run averages by a starting pitcher in NCAA DIII. K. Cutler stayed consistently dominant throughout the year and was awarded first team conference honors after giving up just five earned runs over 41.1 innings, while averaging 8.93 strikeouts per game.
On the offensive side of the ball the Falcons have been led by the bats of first team all-conference recipients Brendan Cutler and Steven Drury Jr. who led the team in RBI with 13 apiece. Freshman Donald Geloso strung together an impressive rookie campaign batting .316 with four doubles, while making key plays at the shortstop position defensively.
Worcester State's trio of sluggers Zach George, David Ruggiero, and Adam Berry each had impressive years at the plate batting well over .350 and leading the squad in nearly every offensive category, while all garnering second team MASCAC honors.