Falcons Drop Pair of Non-Conference Contests To Leopards

Morehouse notches five hits for Green and Gold 

Weymouth, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University Baseball team dropped a pair of non-conference games to the Leopards of Wentworth Institute this evening by the scores of 14-8 and 10-3 from Libby Field.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 8, Wentworth 14 (Game One)
Score: Fitchburg State 3, Wentworth 10 (Game Two)
Records: Fitchburg State (1-10), Wentworth (8-2)

How It Happened

Game One

Fitchburg State opened the scoring in the top of the second as junior Jaime Velez (Lowell, Mass.) reached on a throwing miscue and scored on an RBI double from sophomore Christopher Masta (Peabody, Mass.), while graduate student Connor Morehouse (Wetherby Lake, Mo.) added a bases clearing triple to plate senior Brendan Ferrell (Plymouth, Mass.), freshman Cole DuHaime (Warminster, Penn.) and Mastra for the 4-0 edge.

Wentworth cut the lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth when senior Nolan McManus (Milton, Mass.) double, moved to third on a double from sophomore Matt Rice (Scottsdale, Ariz.) before graduate student Aidan French (Chicago, Ill.) and senior Nolan Freeman (Braintree, Mass.) followed with an RBI ground out and a run scoring single.

The Falcons extended the lead to 5-2 in the top half of the sixth as Velez laced a double down the left field line and Masta proceeded to single to center to score Velez. The Leopards responded with 12 runs in the bottom of the frame, keyed by a two-run double off the bat of French and three-run double by senior Matt Masciadrelli (Westfield, Mass.) to take a 14-5 lead.

The Green and Gold answered back in the top of the seventh when Ferrell walked, advanced to second on a base hit by freshman Liam Goldstein (Charlestown, R.I.), while senior Vincent Eramo (Shirley, Mass.) drove in Ferrell with a fielder's choice and classmate Zachary Morris (Salem, N.H.) followed with a run scoring hit and Masta notched a bases loaded walk, but that's as close as the visitors would get as Wentworth secured the 14-8 victory.

Game Two

Wentworth grabbed a 1-0 advantage in the bottom half of the third with sophomore Ryan Putney (Exeter, N.H.) drawing a one out walk, moved to second on a single from Masciadrelli and scored on a throwing miscue.

The Leopards upped their lead in the following frame when Putney reached on a fielding miscue with the bases loaded as sophomore Christian Peruzzi (Plymouth, Mass.), classmate Ayton DiPina (Pawtucket, R.I.) and senior Kyle Desjardins (North Granby, Conn.) came around to make the score 4-0.

The hosts pushed the lead to 8-0 in the bottom of the fifth as senior Kyle O'Neill (Haverhill, Mass.), Peruzzi, Desjardins and DePina notched RBI base knocks. Fitchburg State trimmed the lead to 8-3 in the top half of the sixth when freshman Matthew Smith (Flanders, N.J.) walked and Morehouse connected on a double before Eramo registered a two-run single and Velez added a sacrifice bunt to bring home Eramo.

Wentworth tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth as O'Neill crossed the plate on a fielding error and DiPina singled to shortstop to plate Peruzzi, resulting in the 10-3, game two final.

By The Numbers

• 25th meeting between the two teams on the baseball diamond with the Falcons 11-13 all-time when taking on the Leopard
• Morehouse paced the Falcons, hitting 3-for-4 with a triple and three RBI in game one
• For the Leopards, Masciadrelli finished 1-for-4 with a double, one run scored and four RBI
• Senior Richard Sharp (Townsend, Mass.) allowed two earned run on five hits with two K's over five innings of work for Fitchburg State
• Junior Brandon Sullivan (Quincy, Mass.) earned the win for Wentworth, giving up five runs (one earned) on five hits with 11 strikeouts in six innings of work
• Eramo led the way for the Green and Gold in game two, finishing 1-of-3 with a run scored and two RBI
• DePina hit 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI for the Leopards
• Ferrell took the loss for Fitchburg State in game two, yielding seven runs (3 earned) on three hits with three punchouts over 4.1 innings pitched
• Junior Jon Campbell (Snohomish, Wash.) picked up the win for Wentworth, allowing three earned runs on five hits and nine strikeouts in six innings of work

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Tuesday as they host the Fighting Scots of Gordon College for a non-conference tilt, starting at 3:00 PM.