Fitchburg State Takes Two Against Bridgewater State

Smith and Chiasson lead Falcons to sweep of Bridgewater State

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Fitchburg State baseball team swept the Bears of Bridgewater State, 14-4, 4-2 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this afternoon at Alumni Field. With the wins Fitchburg State improves to 11-16 overall and 4-4 in MASCAC play, while Bridgewater State drops to 7-15 on the season and 1-7 in conference play.

Fitchburg State 14, Bridgewater State 4 (Gm 1)

Fitchburg State broke a 1-1 stalemate in the top of the fourth as freshman Brennan Cuddahy singled to center, moved to second on a base hit by sophomore Noah Milliard before senior Mike St. John plated both runners with a single through the left side for the 3-1 lead.

The Falcons extended it margin in the top of the sixth, scoring ten times in the frame (13-1). St. John got things started for the Green and Gold in the stanza with an RBI double down the left field line before Milliard and freshman Brandon Lefebvre added two-run singles later in the inning.

Fitchburg State tacked on another run in the top of the seventh when newcomer Joshua Macomber doubled to left, advanced to third on a ground out and crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly off the bat of classmate Timothy Horton for the 14-1 lead.

Bridgewater State cut into the deficit in the bottom half of the seventh as junior Matt Levasseur drove in classmate Randy Frazier with a sac fly, while senior Ryan Feeney plated juniors Ryan Kelleher and Tyler Morini with a double to center, resulting in the 14-4 game one final.

St. John paced the Falcons in game one, going a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with a double, one run scored and three RBI, while Milliard added a 3-for-4 effort at the dish, including a double, three runs scored and three RBI.

For Bridgewater State, Kelleher finished 3-of-3 with a run scored, while Levasseur and Feeney combined for three hits, including a double and four runs batted in.

On the hill, senior Tyler Smith picked up the win for the Falcons, allowing just one run on six hits with four K's in five innings of work, while sophomore Justin Jacobsen took the loss for the Bears, giving up seven runs on nine hits with four strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work.

Fitchburg State 4, Bridgewater State 2 (Gm 2)

In game two, Fitchburg State opened the scoring in the top of the first when Milliard tripled to center and scored on an RBI ground from junior Sean Maki for the 1-0 edge. Bridgewater State knotted the score (1-1) in the bottom half of first as Feeney blasted a homerun to left.

The Falcons regained the lead in the following frame as junior Drew Mazzeo singled to left center, stole second and came around to score on an RBI base knock off the bat of Horton for the 2-1 edge. The Bears retied the contest in the bottom of the third when Feeney singled, stole second and scored on fielding miscue later in the stanza (2-2).

The Green and Gold regained the lead for good in the top of the sixth when Horton reached on a hit by pitch, moved to second and third on a fielder's choice and a hit batter, before scoring on a fielder's choice by Milliard to make the score 3-2.

Fitchburg State added an insurance run in the top half of the seventh as Lefebvre reached on a throwing miscue and scored on an RBI double to left by Mazzeo, resulting in the 4-2 game two final to complete the sweep.

The Falcons were paced by Mazzeo, who went 2-for-3, including a double, one run scored, a stolen base and one RBI, while Maki added one hit and an RBI. For the Bears, Feeney hit 2-for-3 with a homerun, two run scored and an RBI, while Morini chipped with one hit, including a double.

On the mound, junior Benjamin Chiasson picked up the win for the Falcons, giving up just two hits with two strikeouts in 2.1 innings of relief, while senior Thomas Protentis suffered the setback for the Bears, giving up four runs (2 earned) on six hits with six K's in the complete game effort.

Fitchburg State returns to action on Friday as it travels to Dean College to take on the Bulldogs for a contest starting at 3:30 p.m. Bridgewater State will host the Fighting Scots of Gordon College tomorrow for a 3:30 p.m. start time.