Falcons Clipped By Corsairs In Season Opener

Morris and Velez pace Green and Gold with two hits each

Winterhaven, Fla. – The Fitchburg State University Baseball team dropped a 15-11 decision to the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth this afternoon at the Chain O Lakes Stadium as the Falcons opened their 2022 campaign at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 11, UMass Dartmouth 15

Records: Fitchburg State (0-1), UMass Dartmouth (3-0)

How It Happened

Fitchburg State opened the scoring in the top of the third inning as senior Vincent Eramo (Shirley, Mass.) singled, move to second and third on a passed ball and ground before crossing the plate on a base knock off the bat of junior Zachary Malek (Schenectady, N.Y.) for the 1-0 edge.

The Falcons doubled their margin in the following frame when graduate student Jackson Vail (Grafton, Mass.) drew a leadoff walk, advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt and eventually scored following a fielding miscue to make the score 2-0.

UMass Dartmouth cut the deficit to 2-1 in the bottom half of the fourth as junior DJ Perron (Swansea, Mass.) launched his first home run of the season over the left field fence. The Green and Gold wasted little time getting the run back though with graduate student Connor Morehouse (Wetherby Lake, Mo.) reached on a fielder's and came around to score on a double from newcomer Liam Goldstein (Charlestown, R.I.) to push the lead to 3-1.

The Corsairs knotted the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth when sophomore Matthew Klett (Barnstable, Mass.) was hit by a pitch and classmate Andrew Possi (Milton, Mass.) reached on a fielding miscue before junior Andrew Bryant (Canton, Mass.) brought in Keltt with a sacrifice fly and Possi scored off an error.

UMass Dartmouth broke the 3-3 stalemate in the bottom of the sixth, plating five runs on four hits as Klett laced a two-run single to left center, while freshman Devyn Vezina (Coventry, R.I.), Bryant and Perron added RBI's for the 8-3 advantage.

Trailing 10-3 going into the top of the eighth, Fitchburg State battled back to take an 11-10 edge, scoring eight runs on four hits with senior Zachary Morris (Salem, N.H.) ripping a two run single up the middle, while Eramo, Morehouse and Vail adding RBI's in the frame.

The back and forth contest continued with the Corsairs rallying for five runs in the bottom half of the stanza to secure victory however. Sophomore Jared Neikam (Bedford, N.H.) started the rally for UMass Dartmouth with an RBI double, while sophomore Matt Tempone (Smithtown, N.Y.) and Possi followed with a pair of two-run knocks, resulting in the 15-11 final.

By The Numbers

• Second meeting between the two teams with the Falcons 0-2 vs the Corsairs
• Morris led the way for the Falcons, going 2-for-4 with a double, one run scored and two RBI
• For the Corsairs, Perron finished 2-of-4 with a home run, triple, two runs scored and two RBI
• Senior Richard Sharp (Townsend, Mass.) struck out four, allowing one earned run on two hits in four innings of work for Fitchburg State in a no decision
• Senior Mike Solitto (North Providence, R.I.) collected the win for UMass Dartmouth, yielding one unearned run on one hit with one K in 1.1 innings of relief

Up Next

Falcons return to action tomorrow as they take on the Bearcats of Saint Vincent College at the 2022 RussMatt Invitational, starting at 1:15 PM. Corsairs will take on the Eagles of Husson University in a double header tomorrow at the RussMatt Invitational, beginning at 3:00 PM.