Falcons Advance Over Bears, 13-12 In MASCAC Semifinal Round Action

Rindge, N.H. – The second seeded Falcons of Fitchburg State defeated the fifth seeded Bears of Bridgewater State, 13-12 this afternoon in semifinal round action of the 2019 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Baseball Post-Season Tournament at Pappas Field on the Campus of Franklin Pierce University.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 13, Bridgewater State 12

Records: Fitchburg State (24-15, 13-8 MASCAC) I Bridgewater State (17-22, 11-10 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Bridgewater State took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first as junior Jonathan Livolsi (Bridgewater, Mass.) singled to left center to score freshman Liam Bell (Wells, Maine) before senior Dominic Precopio (Framingham, Mass.) followed with an RBI single.

Fitchburg State responded in the bottom half of the frame when senior Noah Milliard (Leominster, Mass.), junior Brennan Cuddahy (Leominster, Mass.), freshman Vincent Eramo (Shirley, Mass.), junior Timothy Horton (Northampton, Mass.) and junior Matthew Pingitore (Rutland, Mass.) connected on RBI base knocks for the 5-2 advantage.

The Bears knotted the score (5-5) in the top half of the third with senior Colin Josselyn (Hanson, Mass.) lacing a two-run double down the right field line. Bridgewater State regained the lead in the top of the fourth on a two-run double by junior Lewis Robinson (New Britain, Conn.), while Precopio added a sacrifice fly for the 9-5 edge.

The Falcons answered back yet again in the bottom of the fifth, scoring six runs, highlighted by a two run single to right off the bat of sophomore Nicholas Cordeau (Melrose, Mass.) to take an 11-9 advantage. The Green and Gold upped their margin in the bottom of the sixth as Eramo blasted his third home run of the season to make the score 13-9.

Bridgewater State battled back to cut the lead to 13-12 in the top of the seventh on a two-run single from newcomer Ruben Gonzalez (Stoughton, Mass.) and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Robinson. Fitchburg State secured the victory however as sophomore Shaun Gamelin (West Kingstown, R.I.) closed out the ninth to earn his sixth save on the season.

By The Numbers

• 89th meeting between the two teams with the Falcons 27-62 vs the Bears
• Eramo paced the Falcons, going  3-for-5 with a home run, triple, three runs scored and three RBI
• Cuddahy added three hits, including three doubles, three runs scored and two RBI for the Green and Gold
• Livolsi finished 2-for-3 with a double, one run scored and three RBI for the Bears
• Aidan Ward (Dunstable, Mass.) collected the win for Fitchburg State, giving up three runs on three hits with two K's in four innings of relief
• Trevor Dennett (Kingston, Mass.) took the loss for Bridgewater State, allowing 11 runs on 11 hits with five strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work.
• Falcons tie single season wins record of 24 set in 2004 with the victory today
• Gamelin set a program record for most saves in a season with his sixth save on the year

Up Next

Falcons will take on the Rams of Framingham State University on Saturday at Westfield State University in semifinal round action of the 2019 MASCAC Baseball Post-Season Tournament at 11:00 AM. Bears conclude their 2019 season with an overall record of 17-22 and an 11-10 mark in conference play.