Baseball Falls To Fitchburg State, 10-5

Box Score

HOLYOKE, Mass. – Elms College senior third baseman Mike Andrews (Greenfield, Mass.) went 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored, but Fitchburg State used a five-run fourth inning highlighted by a two-run homer from Ricky Graham (Walpole, Mass.) to lift the Falcons to a 10-5 victory in Thursday evening's non-conference baseball game at MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke, Mass.

With the loss, Elms falls to 5-16 overall, while Fitchburg State improves to 10-9 on the season.

Trailing 10-5 in the bottom of the ninth, Andrews led off the inning with a single through the left side, and then moved to second when junior right fielder Robert Reyome (Westfield, Mass.) earned a walk to give Elms two runners on base. From there, Fitchburg State relief pitcher Randy Ortiz Jr. (Danielson, Conn.) fanned the next two batters. Following a double steal, sophomore catcher Sean Shanley (Bristol, Conn.) drew a two-out walk to load the bases. Ortiz Jr. then tossed his third strikeout of the inning to seal the five-run victory.

Elms starter Dan Ingraham (Granby, Mass.) tossed five strikeouts and suffered the loss and falls to 0-3 on the season, while Fitchburg State reliever Marshall Miller III (Greenfield, Mass.), who entered in the third frame, earned the victory for the Falcons and improves to 2-1 overall.

Elms got off to a quick start, plating two runs in the bottom of the first. Junior shortstop Brendan Cordeiro (Berkley, Mass.) led off with a single up the middle and then scored on a bases-clearing two-bagger by sophomore second baseman Nicolino Iavicoli (Hampden, Mass.) who advanced to third on the throw home. Andrews then drove Iavicoli home with a base hit up the middle giving the Blazers a two-run cushion. Fitchburg State starter John Chase (Glastonbury, Conn.) used a double play and a fly out to right field to end the inning.

Fitchburg State responded with a run in the top of the second when Graham reached on a one-out error. Michal Mercier (Townsend, Mass.) then tagged a base hit to left field before Erik DiMauro (Foxboro, Mass.) connected for a two-out RBI double to left field cutting the Falcons' deficit to one. Ingraham then fired his fifth strikeout of the contest to keep the score at 2-1.

Elms extended the advantage back to two in the bottom of the second when freshman center fielder Stephen Fisher (West Boylston, Mass.) registered a leadoff single, stole second, raced to third on a fly out to right field by Shanley and then came full circle on a two-out infield single by sophomore left fielder Donald Morse (Alfred, Maine) lifting the lead to 3-1.

The Falcons evened the score at 3-3 in the top of the fourth when Dave Alexander (Torrington, Conn.) led off the frame with a single to left field and then trotted home on a two-run blast to right field off the bat of Graham. DiMauro then delivered a two out single to right field, moved to third on a base hit to right by Bobby Ewing (South Dennis, Mass.) and then crossed home on a base knock by Andrew Foster (East Bridgewater, Mass.) giving Fitchburg State a 4-3 lead. A double to left by Brian Ware (Beverly, Mass.) plated Ewing with the fourth run of the inning and a Blazers' miscue allowed Foster to score, giving the Falcons a 6-3 lead. Elms' senior pitcher James Kosiorek (Springfield, Mass.) entered and forced a groundout to end the rally.

Trailing 6-3 in the bottom of the sixth, Reyome reached on an error and then advanced to second on a one-out walk issued to Fisher. Reyome was caught stealing, but Fisher stole a pair of bases to move to third with two outs. Shanley then drilled a run-scoring infield single pulling the Blazers to within two at 6-4.

Fitchburg State answered with two runs in the top of the seventh when John Phelan (Walpole, Mass.) scored on a base hit and an error to left field by Alexander. Alexander then moved to third on a groundout and scored the second run of the inning on a single up the middle by DiMauro, lifting the Falcons' lead to 8-4.

The Blazers answered with a run in the home half of the frame when Andrews, who reached on a two-out free pass, scored on an RBI single by Reyome, pulling Elms to within three at 8-5.

Fitchburg State added two runs in the top of the eighth Ewing struck out but reached base on a wild pitch to lead off the inning. A sacrifice bunt moved Ewing to second and a groundout moved him to third before he eventually scored on a wild pitch. Phelan then drew a two-out walk, raced all the way to third on a single through the right side by Graham, and then crossed the dish on a balk to give the Falcons a 10-5 cushion.

Alexadner and DiMauro each finished 3 for 5 at the plate while DiMauro drove in two runs. Phelan, Alexander, Graham and Ewing each scored twice in the winning effort.

Iavicoli finished 2 for 3 at the dish with an RBI and a run scored, while Fisher plated two runs in the losing effort

Kosiorek tossed 2.1 innings of scoreless relief, while junior lefty Nick Cordeiro (Berkley, Mass.) hurled a scoreless ninth inning and tossed two strikeouts. Both pitchers allowed just one hit.

Elms returns to action on Saturday, April 17 when it travels to Bennington, Vt. to take on New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) rival Southern Vermont College in a doubleheader. First-pitch of game one is set for 12:00 p.m.