Falcons Edged By Rams, 8-6 In MASCAC Quarterfinals

Northboro, Mass. – The second seeded Falcons of Fitchburg State dropped a tough 8-6 decision to the third seeded Rams of Framingham State University this afternoon in quarterfinal round action of the 2019 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Baseball Post-Season Tournament at the New England Baseball Complex.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 6, Framingham State 8

Records: Fitchburg State (23-15, 13-8 MASCAC) I Framingham State 22-17, 12-9 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Framingham State grabbed a 2-0 advantage in the top of the first on an RBI fielder's choice by junior Bobby Higgins (Barnstable, Mass.) before senior Kyle Lippert (Carlsbad, Calif.) crossed the plate on a delayed run down.

Fitchburg State cut the deficit to 2-1 in the bottom of the second when junior Joshua Macomber (Berkley, Mass.) homered to right field. The Rams upped their margin to 3-1 in the top of the third on a solo shot from junior Cory Caraher (Plymouth, Mass.).

Trailing 5-3 in the seventh frame, the Falcons knotted the score at 5-3 as sophomore Nicholas Cordeau (Melrose, Mass.) launched his team-leading eighth homer on the season over the right center field fence to tie the Falcons single season record for home runs in a season.

Framingham State regained the  lead in the top of the eighth, with senior Kyle Dembrowski (Natick, Mass.) coming home after freshman Gino DeSimone (Medford, Mass.) got into a run down to make the score 6-5. Fitchburg State would answer back in the bottom of the eighth when junior Matthew Pingitore (Rutland, Mass.) laced an RBI single to right field.

The Rams broke the 6-6 stalemate in the top of the 12th as freshman Gino DeSimone (Medford, Mass.) drove in junior Andrew Curtis (Dracut, Mass.) with a grounder to second, resulting in the 8-6 final

By The Numbers

• 90th meeting between the two teams with the Falcons 38-45 vs the Rams
• Cordeau paced the Falcons, going 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI
• Brandon Lefebvre (Leominster, Mass.) added a double and two runs scored for the Green and Gold
• Caraher finished 2-for-6 with a home run, one run scored and two RBI for the Rams
• Richard Sharp (Townsend, Mass.) allowed five runs on ten hits with five K's in six innings of work in a no decision for Fitchburg State
• Kevin Scerra (Marlborough, Mass.) collected the win for Framingham State, giving up four hits with one strikeout in 4.2 innings of relief.
• Today's contest was the longest game for the Falcons since April 27, 2016, when the Green and Gold defeated the Lancers of Worcester State, 7-6 in 13 innings.

Up Next

Falcons will host the Bears of Bridgewater State in semifinal round action of the 2019 MASCAC Baseball Post-Season Tournament tomorrow at Franklin Pierce University for a contest starting at 3:00 PM. Rams will travel to Westfield State to take on the Owls tomorrow in another semifinal round contest at 3:00 PM.