Baseball Earns Split With Becker College In NECC Doubleheader

Box Scores

HOLYOKE, Mass. – Elms College junior right-hander Matt Wood (Feeding Hills, Mass.) tossed a complete-game seven-inning shutout in the second game of the Blazers’ doubleheader to help pace Elms to a split in Saturday afternoon’s New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) baseball game at MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke, Mass.

With the split, Elms snaps a 10-game losing streak to improve to 5-14 overall, 1-4 in NECC action, while Becker moves to 5-10 on the season, 2-3 in league play. The sides will complete the three-game series on Sunday, April 11 with a 1:00 p.m. contest at Logan Field in Worcester, Mass.

Game One – Becker 5, Elms 4

Trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth, freshman center fielder Stephen Fisher (West Boylston, Mass.) singled through the right side, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by junior designated hitter Hector Roche (Bronx, N.Y.), raced to third on a single to right field by junior shortstop Brendan Cordeiro (Berkley, Mass.) and then scored on a passed ball, moving Cordeiro to second. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for the Blazers before sophomore third baseman Nicolino Iavicoli (Hampden, Mass.) tagged a sacrifice fly to center field allowing Cordeiro to score, pulling the Blazers to within one at 3-2.

The Hawks upped its lead to 4-2 in the top of the sixth inning but Elms responded when Fisher drove in junior right fielder Albert Betances (Haverhill, Mass.) from third making the score 4-3.

Becker again pushed its lead to two in the top of the seventh frame before Elms mounted a rally in the home half of the inning. Cordeiro singled up the middle to lead off the stanza, trotted to second on a padded ball and then scored on a base hit to left off the bat of senior first baseman Mike Andrews (Greenfield, Mass.) cutting the lead to one at 5-4. Andrews advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Donald Morse (Alfred, Maine) and then stole third, but could not get the final 90 feet to tie the game.

Becker righty Errick Maddern (West Haven, Conn.) tossed the first six innings to earn the victory, while Jeff Dilorenzo (Coventry, R.I.) earned the save pitching the final frame to help secure the win for the Hawks.

Blazers’ starter Zach LeBarron (Bennington, Vt.) was stellar in defeat, striking out eight batters in a complete-game effort, falling to 1-3 on the season.

Austin Phillips (Thomson, Ga.) paced the Becker offense with a 3 for 4 day at the plate, while Weston Meehan (Thomson, Ga.) drove in a pair to highlight the win for the Hawks.

Fisher, Roche and Cordeiro collected two hits each for the Blazers, while Andrews drew three free passes.

Game Two – Elms 7, Becker 0

In game two, Elms crossed the dish four times in the bottom of the second to take a 4-0 lead. Andrews singled to right field, stole second, advanced to third on a Becker miscue and then scored on an RBI base hit by senior designated hitter Brian Marrero (Kendall Park, N.J.). Marrero raced to second on a wild pitch before Iavicoli reached on a bunt single, moving Marrero to third. A run-scoring groundout by junior right fielder Robert Reyome (Westfield, Mass.) drove in Marrero, before Iavicoli swiped third and then scored on a double by junior catcher Carm Bonavita (Springfield, Mass.). Bonavita then stole third and came full circle on a sacrifice fly by Morse.

Elms added two runs in the bottom of the fifth when Andrews doubled in Cordeiro, and then scored on a single through the left side from Iavicoli two batters later to stake a 6-0 advantage.

The Blazers tacked on their seventh run of the contest in the last of the sixth frame when junior Ramon Sosa (San Juan, Puerto Rico) singled in Morse from third.

Elms received a complete-game effort from Wood who scattered just five hits and struck out two en route to his third win of the season (3-2).

Hawks’ southpaw starter Joe Franchi (Millbury, Mass.) suffered the loss in a complete-game six-inning effort.

Andrews was 3 for 3 at the dish with two runs scored and four stolen bases in game two, while Iavicoli was 2 for 3 to lead the Blazers’ offensive output. Seven different players collected an RBI each in the win.

Becker’s Ryan Sczerbinski (Cranston, R.I.) notched two of the Hawks’ five hits in the losing effort.