Baseball Edged by Fitchburg State

AUBURN, Mass. – Sophomore Steven Drury's (Leominster, Mass.) two-out double would tie the game at 10-all and an error on the play would allow the winning run to score as the Fitchburg State baseball team scored three times in the bottom of the 10th inning to rally for a 11-10 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology in a non-league contest played at Auburn High School. The Falcons' rally came after the Leopards had scored twice in the top half of the inning to break an 8-all deadlock.

With the win Fitchburg State improves to 6-5 overall while the Leopards see their four-game winning streak come to an end, falling to 9-4 on the season.

The Falcons got on the board in the first inning when junior Roel Fernandez (Cape Coral, Fla.) doubled, moved to third on a failed pickoff attempt, and came home on an RBI groundout from sophomore Mike St. John (Rehoboth, Mass.).

Wentworth tied the game in the top of the second as senior Scott Ouellette (Lewiston, Maine) led off with a double and junior Sam McManus walked. Sophomore Jimmy Temte (Northborough, Mass.) moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt and senior Anthony Matera (Trumbull, Conn.) scored Ouellette on a sacrifice fly

An inning later the Leopards took a 2-1 lead as sophomore Jordan Burst (Jackson, N.J.) drew a two-out walk and scored on a double off the bat of freshman Tyler Weninger (Chandler, Ariz.). Wentworth would up its lead to 3-1 in the top of the fourth when McManus drew a walk and would go to second when Matera laid down a sacrifice and was safe on an error. Senior Joe Hulme (Tewksbury, Mass.) delivered a single to right to score McManus.

The Falcons took a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the fourth, with all four coming after a two-out error. Drury hit a two-out single and senior Clayton Beaulieu (Chicopee, Mass.) followed with a single of his own. Junior Mark Martignetti (Boston, Mass.) kept the inning alive when he reached on an error to load the bases and sophomore Sam Brown (Nepean, Ont.) cleared the bases with a double to right center. Brown would score after a freshman Donald Geloso (Staten Island, N.Y.) single.

Wentworth pulled within a run at 5-4 in the top of the fifth when Weninger hit a one-out single and went to second after an Ouellette walk. McManus reached on an error which would score Weninger and, after a Temte walk loaded the bases, Matera flew out. On the play Ouellette tried to score but was ruled he left early after an appeal play.

The Leopards took a 6-5 lead in the top of the sixth. Sophomore Christian Ferri (Bloomfield, N.J.) drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on a one-out double from senior Jake Mailman (Medway, Mass.). A Burst groundout moved Mailman to third and he would score on a Weninger double.

Fitchburg State reclaimed the lead in the home half of the inning, with a Leopard error and a passed ball aiding in both runs. Beaulieu, who drew a leadoff walk, and went to second on a sacrifice bunt from Martignetti. An infield single and subsequent error during Geloso's at bat scored Beaulieu and Gelos would eventually score on a passed ball.

The teams traded runs in the seventh inning as Hulme hit a single to left, which would score Temte who had drawn a one-out walk, to knot the game at 7-all. In the home half of the inning, Drury was hit by a pitch with two outs and went to second on a Beaulieu walk. Martignetti laced a single to right, which would score Drury and give the Falcons an 8-7 lead.

Down to its final at bat, Wentworth tied the game in the top of the ninth. Ferri led off with a single up the middle and moved into scoring position on a Hulme sacrifice. Mailman placed a single to right center, moving Ferri to third, and Weninger would reach on a fielder's choice to score Ferri and tie the game at 8-all.

Temte hit a one-out single in the 10th and went to second when Matera was hit by a pitch. Ferri delivered a single to right to score Temte and move Matera to second. Hulme was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Mailman had an RBI groundout to score Matera.

Geloso led off the bottom of the 10th with an infield single and went to second on a wild pitch. After a strikeout, St. John hit an infield single to put runners at the corners. Senior Pierce Hans (Washington Township, N.J.) singled in Geloso and moved the tying run into scoring position. After Kyle Cutler (Clinton, Mass.) reached on a fielder's choice which forced St. John out at third, Drury doubled down the right field line to score Cutler, and, after an error, allowed Hans to come across with the winning run.

Sophomore Andrew Lessard (Peabody, Mass.) picked up the win after allowing two runs on two hits and struck out two in an inning of work. At the plate, Geloso was 3-for-5, while St. John, Hans, Drury, Beaulieu, and Martignetti had two hits each. Brown drove in three runs.

Senior Justin Voytek (New Milford, Conn.) took the loss (0-1) for the Leopards, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and striking out two in 1.1 innings of work. Weninger got the start and pitched five innings, allowing five runs (one earned) on six hits and struck out two in five innings. Sophomore Zach Bernier (North Dartmouth, Mass.), junior Johnny Ryan (Brandt Rock, Mass.), and senior Dakota Baird (Bermuda Dunes, Calif.) all saw action on the mound. Offensively Weninger was 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and three RBI. Ferri, Hulme, and Mailman each had two hits with Hulme and Mailman driving in two runs each.

The Leopards have a quick turnaround as they are at Johnson & Wales on Thursday afternoon at 4:00.