Falcons Earn Split With Colonels

Edged 5-4 in opener; Rebound with 10-4 victory in nightcap

Northborough, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University baseball team split a non-conference double-header with the Colonels of Curry College this afternoon at the New England Baseball Complex as the Falcons were edged 5-4 in nine innings in the opener before securing the split with a 10-4 triumph in the night cap.

The Basics
Score: Fitchburg State 4, Curry 5 (Gm 1) (9 Inn)
Score: Fitchburg State 10, Curry 4 (Gm 2)
Records: Fitchburg State (2-1) I Curry (1-1)

How It Happened
Game One
Trailing 2-0 in the fifth inning, Ftichburg State cut into the deficit as junior Timothy Horton (Northampton, Mass.) hit a sacrifice fly to center that plated classmate Matthew Pingitore (Rutland, Mass.) to make the score 2-1.

The Falcons grabbed the lead in the top of the seventh when sophomore Nicholas Cordeau (Melrose, Mass.) singled to plate Pingitore, while Horton notched his second sacrifice fly of the contest to bring in freshman Brendan Ferrell (Plymouth, Mass.) for the 3-2 edge.

Curry retied the contest (3-3) in their half of the seventh as junior Mitchell Carvahlo (Cranston, R.I.) crossed the plate on a throwing miscue to force extra innings. The score remained 3-3 until the ninth when Fitchburg State took the lead back as Ferrell singled to center to score sophomore Daniel Riley (Melrose, Mass.) (4-3), but Curry rallied in the bottom of the ninth, scoring twice with freshman Jason Leonard (Dedham, Mass.) drawing a bases loaded walk, while senior Tyler Jenkins (East Bridgewater, Mass.) drove in newcomer Trevor Pietrzyk (Taunton, Mass.) with a sac fly to right, resulting in the 5-4 game one final.

Game Two
Curry took an early 3-0 advantage in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by freshman Eric Sennott (Odessa, Fla.) and a run scoring groundout from Pietrzyk before Fitchburg State cut the deficit to 3-1 in the top of the fourth as Ferrell drove in junior Alexander Bissanti (Franklin, Mass.) with a bases loaded walk.

The Falcons would take a 5-3 margin in the top half of the fifth as Bissanti, Cordeau and Pingitore brought home runs, but the Colonels got a run back in the bottom of the fifth on a Leonard solo homerun to make the score 5-4.

Fitchburg State secured the victory in the night cap however in the sixth with junior Brandon Lefebvre (Leominster, Mass.) singling in in senior Noah Milliard (Leominster, Mass.), while Ferrell laced a bases clearing double to center field that scored Lefebvre, Bissanti and junior Joshua Macomber (Berkley, Mass.), resulting in the 10-4 final

Inside the Numbers

• 20th meeting between two school with the Falcons 16-13-1 vs the Colonels
• Cordeau pace the Falcon in game one, going 3-for-4
• Horton added two RBI for Fitchburg State in the opener
• Jenkins finished with one hit and two RBI for the Colonels in the first game
• Jack Kallnich (Madison, Conn.) chipped in with one hit and one RBI for Curry
• Aidan Ward (Dunstable, Mass.) allowed two runs (4 IP) on five hits with two K's in a no decision for the Green and Gold (Game One)
• Jared Keller (Oxford, Mass.) collected the win for Curry in game one, yielding one run on two and three strikeouts in two innings of relief
• Macomber led the Falcons game two offense, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI
• Ferrell was also solid for Fitchburg State, adding a double and four RBI
• Leonard paved the way for the Colonels in the night cap with a home run, one run scored and an RBI
• Keller finished with a double and one run scored for Curry
• Lucas Amico (Leominster, Mass.) picked the win in game two for Fitchburg State after giving up one run on one hit with three K's in five innings of relief
• James Mello (Fall River, Mass.) gave up one unearned run on two hits and three strikeouts in 3.2 innings of work for Curry in a no decision