Baseball Completes Sweep of Lesley University with 20-1 Victory

Box Score

SOMERVILLE, Mass. – Elms College senior left-handed pitcher Nick Cordeiro (Berkley, Mass.) struck out seven batters in a complete-game effort and junior left fielder Donald Morse (Alfred, Maine) went 3 for 4 with four RBI at the dish to help the Blazers complete its New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) sweep of Lesley University with a 20-1 victory in Monday night's baseball action in Somerville, Mass.

With the win, Elms improves to 12-16 overall, 5-8 in NECC play, while Lesley falls to 0-23 on the season, 0-13 in conference action.

Holding a 5-0 lead after six innings, Elms extended its lead to 15-0 when it exploded for 10 runs in the top of the seventh frame. Senior second baseman Brendan Cordeiro (Berkley, Mass.) connected for a leadoff single and then moved to second on an infield error and then advanced to third before sophomore center fielder Stephen Fisher (West Boylston, Mass.) drove him in with a triple to right center. A base hit by junior shortstop Nicolino Iavicoli (Hampden, Mass.) sent Fisher across the plate before Morse reached when he was plunked by a pitch to give Elms two runners on base. Junior first baseman Reynaldo Rivera (San Juan, Puerto Rico) then delivered a two-run double and advanced to third on a wild pitch before freshman designated hitter Anthony Pagano (Cranston, R.I.) lifted a sacrifice fly to center to give the Blazers a 10-0 cushion.

Freshman third baseman Zachary Dreher (Naugatuck, Conn.) and senior catcher Carm Bonavita (Springfield, Mass.) cracked back-to-back hits to give Elms a pair of runners in scoring position for freshman right fielder Alex King (Lebanon, Conn.) who reached on the second Lesley miscue of the frame to send Dreher home and put runners on the corners. An RBI groundout by Brendan Cordeiro and a run-scoring groundout by Fisher increased the Blazers' lead to 13-0 before Morse drilled a two-run double to center to give Elms a commanding 15-0 advantage before he was thrown out trying to stretch the play into a triple.

The Lynx got a run back in the bottom of the frame when Andrew Colon (Watertown, Mass.) led off the stanza with a two-bagger and later scored on an RBI single by Jeff Landry (Vestal, N.Y.) to cut the deficit to 20-1.

Elms added five more to its lead in the top of the ninth inning as the Blazers used an RBI double by Iavicoli and Rivera, a run-scoring single from Morse and an RBI groundout by Brendon Jennings (Warwick, R.I.) to highlight the five-run inning and seal the 20-1 victory.

Nick Cordeiro held the Lynx scoreless through 6.2 innings and tossed all nine innings on the hill en route to his fourth victory of the season (4-2). The southpaw allowed just one run and scattered seven hits while striking out seven to secure the win.

Elms pounded out a single-game high 21 hits as five Blazers finished with three or more hits including Fisher who led the attack with a 4 for 6 effort with three runs scored and three runs driven in.

Morse delivered a team-best four RBI and connected for three hits, while Brendan Cordeiro, Iavicoli and Rivera collected three hits apiece.

Colon accounted for two of Lesley's seven hits in the contest, while Ryan Genua (Prospect, Conn.) suffered the loss for the Lynx.

Elms returns to non-conference action on Wednesday, April 27 when it hosts Springfield College at 7:30 p.m. at MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke, Mass.