Seventh Inning Rally Lifts Nichols College Past Baseball, 12-7

HOLYOKE, Mass. – Elms College senior catcher Rey Rivera (San Juan, Puerto Rico) went 3 for 4 at the plate with four RBI, but Nichols College used four hits each from Richie Burke (Newburyport, Mass.) and Dylan Courtney (Ware, Mass.) and an eight-run seventh inning to help pace the Bison to a 12-7 victory in Tuesday evening's non-conference baseball game at MacKenzie Stadium.

With the loss, Elms falls to 7-15 on the season, while Nichols improves to 4-14 overall.

Elms plated four runs in the bottom of the first on the strength of back-to-back RBI singles by senior left fielder Donny Morse (Alfred, Maine) and Rivera and an RBI groundout by freshman designated hitter Kevin Dwire (Ellington, Conn.) to give the Blazers a 4-0 lead.

After John Micciche (Holbrook, Mass.) singled in Courtney in the top of the second, Rivera notched his second RBI base hit of the game to set the score at 5-1 after two frames.

The Bison crept back to within two with a single run in both the fourth and innings to set the score at 5-3 before erupting for eight runs in the top of the seventh inning.

After a run on an infield scored to pull Nichols to within one, Courtney ripped a two-run double down  the left field line plating the tying and go-ahead runs. Chris Bruno (Darien, Conn.) then cracked a two-run base hit and a two-run double off the bat of Bryan Gill (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) lifted the Bison to an 11-5 advantage.

Elms rallied in the home half of the seventh stanza when senior second baseman Nico Iavicoli (Hampden, Mass.) was hit by a pitch and Morse singled to left field bringing up Rivera who launched a two-run double to the gap in left center and pulling the Blazers to within four at 11-7.

Cody Jankins (West Brookfield, Mass.) delivered the final run for Nichols when he drove in Nick Shaw (Plymouth, Mass.) with a run-scoring single to center field to seal the 12-7 victory.

Courtney finished 4 for 5 with three RBI and two runs scored, while Gill and Bruno drove in a pair of runs each. James Curto (Braintree, Mass.) tossed 2.0 innings of relief on the hill to earn the win and improve to 2-2.

Morse and Rivera each connected for four hits, while Rivera drove in four of Elms' seven runs in the loss.

Sophomore shortstop Alex King (Lebanon, Conn.) was 2 for 4 with two runs scored, while Iavicoli also crossed the dish twice.

Blazers' senior southpaw reliever Andrew Bunger (Southington, Conn.) suffered the loss to fall to 0-3.

Elms returns to non-conference play on Thursday, April 12 when its hosts Fitchburg State University at 7:30 p.m. at MacKenzie Stadium.