Baseball Drops Pair To Blazers At RussMatt Invitational

Hurrell launches pair of homeruns for Green and Gold

Davenport, FL: The Fitchburg State baseball team dropped a pair of contests to the Blazers of Elms College this afternoon in day one action of the RussMatt Invitational from the Northeast Regional Park Field #3 by the scores of 16-5 and 12-8.

THE BASICS:

- Date: 3/8/24

- Score: Fitchburg State 5, Elms 16 (GM1)

- Score: Fitchburg State 8, Elms 12 (GM2)

- Records: Fitchburg State (2-3, 0-0 MASCAC), Elms (7-3, 0-0 GNAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED: Game One

-  Elms plated nine runs in the bottom of the first frame as sophomore Justin Miller (Prospect, CT), senior Seamus Higgins (Rutland, MA) and graduate student Tyler Galenski (Wilbraham, MA) collected a pair of RBI each for the 9-0 advantage. Fitchburg State answered in the top of the fourth with junior Jacob Hurrell (Haverhill, MA) singling to open the frame, moving to second and third on a Joseph Abt (Newbury, MA) base knock and a hit by pitch before junior Matthew Smith (Flanders, NJ) drove in Hurrell with a bases loaded sacrifice fly to make the score 11-1.

- The Blazers pushed the lead to 16-1 in the bottom of the fourth on run scoring hits from senior AJ Cook (Mendon, MA) and Galenski. The Falconns responded in the top of the sixth when Hurrell opened the frame with an infield single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single to right field off the bat of Abt to cut the deficit to 16-2. The Green and Gold struck again in the top half of the seventh as freshman Benjamin Rewenko (Burlington, CT) plated junior Ethan Blanchette (San Antonio, TX) with a single up the middle, while junior Cole DuHaime (Warminster, PA) and senior Eric Mccallum (Whitman, MA) added RBI's, resulting in the 16-5, game one final.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

-  Abt paced the Falcons, gong 2-for-3 with an RBI

-  Hurrell went 2-of-3 with two runs scored

-  Freshman Sean Tessman (Canton, CT) allowed one run on two hits with four K's and one walk over two innings of relief for Fitchburg State

-  For the Blazers, Galenski finished 1-for-3 with a run scored and three RBI

-  Higgins added one hit, two runs scored and two RBI

-  Junior Henry Rondon (Ansonia, CT) picked up the win for Elms, giving up two runs on six hits, while striking out nine over six innings pitched

HOW IT HAPPENED: Game Two

-  Fitchburg State grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when senior Maxwell Kelly (E. Bridgewater, MA) singled to center and scored as Hurrell blasted his second home run off the season over the right field fence. Elms answered in the top of the third, crossing the plate three time with graduate student Josh Pasini (Enfield, CT) and sophomore Trevor Nohilly (Bristol, CT) registering RBI base knocks, while junior Blake Bastos (Mineola, NY) added a sacrifice fly for the 3-2 edge.

- The Falcons knotted the score at 3-3 in their half of the third as Hurrell launched his second home run of the contest to right field. The Blazers regained the lead in the following frame with junior George Chaya Jr (Syosset, NY) lacing a two-run single through the right side before Bastos followed with a run scoring single up the middle to make the score 8-3.

- The Green and Gold battled back to retie the contest at 8-8 in the bottom of the sixth when Abt and junior Nolan Hills (Danvers, MA) notched an RBI single and a sacrifice fly before Smith added a two-run double. Elms secured the victory in the top of the seventh though, crossing the plate four times in inning, resulting in the 12-8, game two final.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

-  This afternoon's contest marked the 11th meeting between the two teams on baseball diamond with the Falcons 6-5 all-time when taking on the Blazers

-  Hurrell led the way for the Green and Gold again, batting 2-for-3 with two home runs, three runs scored and three RBI

-  Abt added two hits, one run scored and an RBI

-  Junior Justin Maheu (Windham, NH) took the loss for Fitchburg State, yielding four runs (2 earned) on three hits with two strikeouts and three walks in 2.1 innings of work

-  For the Blazers, Bastos hit 2-for-4 with three RBI

-  Nohilly finished 1-of-2 with three runs scored and two RBI

-  Senior Camden Murphy (Berlin, CT) collected the win for Elms, allowing one run on three hits with one K over two innings pitched

UP NEXT:

- Fitchburg State returns to action on tomorrow when they take on the Cougars of Minnesota-Morris on day two action of the RussMatt Invitational, starting at 7:15 PM.