Fitchburg State Sweeps Past Anna Maria

Lefebvre and Cuddahy lead Falcons to non-conference sweep over AMCATS 

NORTHBORO, Mass. - The Fitchburg State Baseball team collected a pair of win over the AMCATS of Anna Maria College in non-conference action at the New England Baseball Complex this afternoon. The Falcons registered an 11-7 game one win before completing the sweep with a 17-2 decision in the nightcap.

Fitchburg State 11, Anna Maria 7 (Game 1)

Anna Maria opened the scoring in the bottom of the first as senior Joseph Fahey singled, stole second, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a base hit to right center off the bat of classmate Jonathan Roy for the 1-0 lead.

Fitchburg State responded with two runs in the top of the second when sophomore Brennan Cuddahy and senior Mike St. John connected on back-to-back singles before freshman Brandon Lefebvre knocked in Cuddahy with a single up the middle, while fellow newcomer Matthew Pingitore grounded out to third to score St. John to make the score 2-1.

The Falcons upped its lead (5-1) in the top of the fourth, as Lefebvre delivered a clutch two-run doubled that brought home St. John and Cuddahy after the Green and Gold loaded the bases on a pair of walks and double.

The Amcats answered back in the bottom of the fourth when Matthew Elliot doubled to left field, scoring Camden Brown. Three more hits in the fourth were able to bring in Connor Lavin. Elliot and Fahey to cut the lead to 5-4.

Fitchburg State put the game out of reach however in the top of the seventh as freshman Timothy Horton scored on a throwing miscue, resulting in the 11-7 final.

On the mound, freshman Andrew Dunn collected his first collegiate win for the Falcons, yielding one run one two hits with one K in two innings of relief, while junior Brendan Matthews took the loss for the AMCATS, allowing four runs (3 Earned) on two hits.

Offensively for the Green and Gold, Lefebvre went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a double, one run scored and five RBI, while Cuddahy was also 3-for-3 at the dish, including a double and four runs scored.

For Anna Maria, Elliot hit 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI, while Fahey and Roy combined for four hit, two runs scored and a pair of runs batted in.

Fitchburg State 17, Anna Maria 2 (Game 2)

Fitchburg State took an early lead in the top of the second inning as senior Nathan Littman flew out to right field bringing in Pingitore, while an Andrew Currie single scored Horton and junior Sean Maki for the 5-0 advantage.

The Falcons pulled even farther ahead in the top of the fourth when they scored ten more runs, highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of Maki, while Cuddahy connected on his first home run in Falcons uniform (16-0).

The Amcats broke its scoring silence in the bottom half of the sixth as Tanner Jakola crossed home on a passed ball and Roy scored off of Trevor Brown's grounder to second base, resulting in the 17-2 game two final.

Fitchburg State was paced by Maki, who hit 3-for-3, including two runs scored and three runs batted in, while Currie chipped in with two hits, three runs scored and one RBI. For Anna Maria, Fahey notched the lone hit of the contest, while Brown added an RBI for the AMCATS.

On the bump, sophomore Evan Meleedy, freshman Tyler Brandt and senior Donnell Hightower combined to allow two unearned runs on just one hit with seven strikeouts for the Green and Gold, while senior Phil Antonucci took the loss the AMCATS, giving up five runs (4 Earned) on two hits in two innings of work.

Fitchburg State (6-9, 0-0 MASCAC) returns to action tomorrow as it hosts the Pilgrims of New England College at Franklin Pierce University for a contest starting at 7 p.m. Anna Maria (7-14, 0-0 GNAC) will travel to Johnson and Wales on Saturday for a twin bill starting at 12 p.m.

Portions of release courtesy of Anna Maria SID office

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