Baseball Falls to Framingham State University, 6-4

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – Elms College sophomore shortstop Alex King (Lebanon, Conn.) went 2 for 4 at the plate and the Blazers held a 3-2 lead after five innings, but Framingham State University's Tony Iafolla (Medfield, Mass.) went 4 for 5 and scored two runs as the Rams scored twice in the sixth and seventh frames to pull away to a 6-4 victory in Wednesday afternoon's non-league baseball game at Bowditch Field in Framingham, Mass.

With the loss, Elms moves to 11-16 on the season, while Framingham State improves to 19-11 overall.

In the top of the second inning, Elms broke a scoreless tie when sophomore designated hitter Felix Montalvo (Carolina, Puerto Rico) singled through the left side to score senior first baseman Rey Rivera (San Juan, Puerto Rico) who reached on an error earlier in the frame to give the Blazers a 1-0 lead.

Elms extended its lead to 2-0 in the top of the fourth when senior second baseman Nico Iavicoli (Hampden, Mass.) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, advanced to second on a failed pickoff attempt and then scored on an error.

Framingham State answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth when Iafolla scored on a wild pitch, and after Elms' junior center fielder Steve Fisher (West Boylston, Mass.) singled in freshman right fielder Brady Forrest (Hampden, Mass.) in the top of the fifth, the Rams narrowed the deficit back to one when Ivan Colon (Waltham, Mass.) crossed the plate on a passed ball to set the score at 3-2 in favor of the Blazers.

In the bottom of the sixth, Framingham State posted its first lead of the game when Cam Couillard (North Andover, Mass.) and Will Crofton (Hopkinton, Mass.) registered back-to-back RBI base hits to give the Rams a 4-3 edge.

In the top of the seventh, Fisher evened the game at 4-4 when he reached on a fielder's choice and then came full circle on a base-hit and outfield fielding error by King, but a two-run double by Chris Blydell (Lynn, Mass.) with runners on the corners in the bottom of the seventh allowed the Rams to stake a 6-4 lead.

Felipe Barahona (Lynn, Mass.) (4-1) tossed the final four innings for Framingham State and allowed just one unearned run on four hits en route to the win. Elms' freshman reliever Geoffrey Frost (Ludlow, Mass.) pitched four frames of relief for junior starter John Russell (Springfield, Mass.) and suffered the loss to fall to 1-4 on the season. Russell allowed one run and scattered six hits in the no-decision.

Crofton added a 3 for 5 effort at the dish, while Iafolla scored twice to help seal the win for the Rams.

Elms returns to conference action this weekend with a three-game set against Southern Vermont College.