Baseball Falls Twice To Terriers In Non-Conference Twin Bill

Fitchburg, MA: The Fitchburg State baseball team dropped a pair of non-conference contests this afternoon to the Terriers of Thomas College at Riccards Field as the Falcons were edged 3-2 in the opener before falling 9-1 in the nightcap.

THE BASICS:

- Date: 3/22/24

- Score: Fitchburg State 2, Thomas 3 (GM1)

- Score: Fitchburg State 1, Thomas 9 (GM2)

- Records: Fitchburg State (4-11, 0-0 MASCAC), Thomas 4-7, 0-0 NAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED: Game One

-  Fitchburg State opened the scoring in the bottom of the first when sophomore Adam Koza (Windham, NH) doubled down the left field line to drive in senior Matthew Kelly (E. Bridgewater, MA) for the 1-0 edge. The Falcons doubled the advantage in the following frame with junior Cole DuHaime (Warminster, PA) plated newcomer Luke Sterner (Stafford, VA) with a single through the left side to make the score 2-0.

- Thomas answered in the top of the third as senior Tony Meza (Los Angeles, CA) singled to left center, scoring junior DJ Cagnina (South Berwick, ME) to trim the deficit to 2-1. The Terriers grabbed the lead for good in the top half of the sixth when junior Matt Seymour (Old Town, ME) scored on a fielding miscue before Cagnina was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in Keblinsy, resulting in the 3-2 final.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

-  Hurrell paced the Falcons, going 2-for-3 with

-  Koza added one hit, including a double and one RBI

-  Freshman Joseph Stawski (Niantic, CT) took the loss for Fitchburg State, allowing three runs (2 earned) on six hits with six K's in the complete game effort

-  For the Terriers, Foley finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI

-  Cheesie chipped in with a double and two RBI

-  Junior Jarrod Willette (Concord, NH) picked up the win for Thomas, allowing two runs on six hits with five strikeouts over seven innings of wok

HOW IT HAPPENED: Game Two

-  Thomas grabbed a 2-0 edge in the top of the first as Meza single through the right side to score senior Elijah Morton (New London, CT), while junior Cam Haynes (Laconia, NH) collected a sacrifice fly to right field that plated Meza. Fitchburg State cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the first when Sterner singled to left field to drive in junior Jacob Hurrell (Haverhill, MA).

- The Terriers upped the lead to 4-1 in the top of the fifth with Keblinsky registering an RBI base knock as freshman Hayden Dippner (Wilton, ME) crossed the plate. Thomas secured the victory in the top of the sixth when Meza singled to center field to knock in Cagnina and junior Jason Bartlett (Belfast, ME), resulting in the 9-1 final.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

-  This afternoon's contest marked the first ever meeting between Fitchburg State and Thomas with the Falcons 0-2 all-time when taking on the Terriers

-  Junior Matthew Smith (Flanders, NJ) led the way for the Falcons, going 1-of-3 with a double

-  Sterner finished with one hit and one RBI

-  Freshman Shane Daly (Rockland, MA) suffered the setback for Fitchburg State, yielding three runs on seven hits and two strikeouts over four innings pitched

-  For the Terriers, Meza batted 2-for-2 with one run scored and four RBI

-  Bartlett chipped in with three hits, one run scored and one RBI

-  Senior Andrew Pruell (Warren, ME) collected the victory for Thomas, giving up just one hits and striking out five in four innings of relief

UP NEXT:

- Fitchburg State returns to action on Tuesday when they travel to Anna Maria to take on the AMCATS in non-conference action, starting at 3:00PM.

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