Courtesy Worcester State Sports Information
Westfield State 10, Bridgewater State 4
Worcester, MA --- Fourth-seeded Westfield State junior Kevin Lyons(Braintree, MA) went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs and classmate Jesse Vermeersch (Marlboro, MA) tossed a complete game effort to help propel the Owls to a 10-4 victory this afternoon over #2 Bridgewater State in the semifinal winners bracket of the MASCAC Baseball Tournament hosted by Worcester State at Lake Park.
Westfield State (22-14) advances to the championship game tomorrow at 1 PM while the Bears (24-15 look to stave off elimination when they play at 5:20 against the top-seeded Lancers. Earlier this morning WSC defeated MCLA to advance to the last game of the semifinal round.
Bridgewater State got to Vermeersch early as they built up a 3-0 lead over the opening two innings. Senior Brendon Elliot (Brockton, MA-LF) drove in classmate Brad Koneski (N. Dighton, MA-2B) in the first and junior Mark Claffey (Bellingham, MA-3B) along with senior Kelly LaDow (E. Falmouth, MA-C) added back-to-back RBIs in the second.
But Vermeersch (5-1) settled down and he set down 18 of next 23 batters from the third through the eighth inning. During that stretch Vermeersch scattered two hits, walked three and he stranded a pair in scoring position. He would end the contest hurling 142 pitches, striking out seven while issuing five free passes.
Westfield State used a key rally in the top of the fourth to take control of the game. Junior Ben Campbell (Easthampton, MA-DH) started the inning with a walk and then Lyons followed with a two-run homer to the deep part of centerfield before sophomore Pete Grillo (Shrewsbury, MA-2B) capped off the inning with a two-run double to right to put the Owls up 4-3.
After Westfield State tacked on another run with a bases-loaded walk in the fifth, the Owls put the game out of reach when Lyons hammered a two-run double to push the advantage to 9-3.
Trailing 10-3 entering the bottom of the ninth, Bridgewater State got a run on a sacrifice fly by LaDow, but that was all the damage the Bears would end up doing as Vermeersh induced a flyout to end the contest.
Westfield State pounded out 13 hits as junior Mike Trachtenburg (Newton, MA-CF) went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI while Grillo and sophomore Pete Hogan (Weymouth, MA-C) combined for four hits and three plated runs.
Elliot, Koneski and senior JT Mooney (N. Attleboro, MA-CF) each notched two base hits apiece while LaDow drove in a pair of runs.
Sophomore Jeff Poupolo's (Brockton, MA) record evens out to 4-4 as he worked 4 1/3 innings allowing five runs on seven hits to go along with four walks and three strikeouts. Freshman Jim Balboni (Townsend, MA) stopped the bleeding for the Bears as he worked the last three innings allowing one run over that stretch.
Worcester State 12, MCLA 4
Worcester, MA --- Top-seeded Worcester State sophomores Corey Abbascia (Shrewsbury, MA-LF), Johno Hinkell (North Adams, MA-C) along with junior Nick Dortona (Malden, MA-3B) combined for seven hits and five runs batted in as the Lancers rolled to a 12-4 victory this morning over #3 MCLA in the losers bracket game in the MASCAC Baseball Tournament semifinals at Lake Park.
The Lancers (27-13) will advance and play the winner of the afternoon bracket contest of #2 Bridgewater State against fourth-seeded Westfield State in an elimination game later this afternoon. MCLA wraps up their season at 20-15 overall.
Hinkell went 3-for-5 with two plated runs while Dortona and Abbascia chipped in with two hits as Dortona drove in a pair and Abbascia crossed the plate three times. Freshman Jake Sanderski (Millbury, MA-LF) and second-year Nick Fluegge (Ware, MA-1B) each went 2-for-4 as Sanderski scored two runs and Fluegge added three RBIs.
The Trailblazers were paced by senior Derek Gibbons (Rochester, MA-1B) and junior Ken Recore (Averill Park, NY-C) who each tallied two hits while Gibbons finished with a double, a homer and two plated runs.
Worcester State opened the game with a 2-0 lead after two innings as the Lancers scored on an error in the infield on the first inning and on a heads up running play in the second frame by junior Ryan LaPrade (Leominster, MA-2B) with two outs. LaPrade reached on a fielder's choice, stole second and crossed home when a nifty play by the shortstop got muffed by the first baseman as the ball slipped out of the webbing of his glove.
After MCLA grabbed a run back on an RBI fielders choice with the bases loaded in the top of the third, Hinkell lifted a lead-off solo homer in the bottom of the inning to give WSC a 3-1 lead.
The Trailblazers added another run on a sacrifice fly in the fifth by senior Anthony Russo (Marcy, NY-C), but the Blue and Gold answered right back on back-to-back RBIs in the bottom of the frame by Fluegge and Hinkell.
Freshman Rick Massey (Pittsfield, MA-CF) hit a run-producing double to bring the deficit to 6-3, but the Blue and Gold put the game out of reach as they crossed the plate seven times over the next three innings. Their scoring was highlighted by a two-run singles by Dortona and Fluegge in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively.
MCLA did try to get something going in the top of the seventh on Gibbon's solo homer, but the gap was too much for the visitors to overcome.
Junior Mike Borowiec (Spencer, MA) was solid for the Lancers as he tossed eight strong innings allowing four runs (three earned) on nine hits. Borowiec (5-1) also fanned four and walked two as he extremely effective throwing 105 pitches.
Trailblazer senior Cyrus Curtis (Bourne, MA) shouldered the setback as his record dropped to 4-3 on the season. Curtis went 5 1/3 innings allowing seven runs (five earned) on eight hits while he walked and struck out four batters.
Worcester State 9, Bridgewater State 8
Worcester, MA --- Freshman Jake Sanderski (Millbury, MA-LF) lifted a homer to snap an 8-8 tie with two outs while junior Kevin Hayes (Milford, MA) hurled four innings of one-run relief to help lead Worcester State to a 9-8 victory this evening over in the semifinal elimination game of the MASCAC Baseball Championship at Lake Park.
The top-seeded Lancers (28-13) will advance to the championship game against fourth seeded Westfield State tomorrow at 1 PM at Tivinan Field. If Worcester State should win the contest, the second elimination game will start 30 minutes at the conclusion of the contest. Bridgewater State ends their 2009 campaign at 24-16.
Down 8-2 entering the bottom of the sixth, Worcester State staged a furious comeback to knot the score 8-8. The Lancers loaded the bases when Ryan LaPrade (Leominster, MA-2B) reached on an error and WSC soon loaded the bases with back-to-back walks. Sanderski then grounded into a fielder's choice that scored LaPrade before junior Nick Caparell (N. Attleboro, MA-RF) tacked on another run to put runners on first and third.
Junior Nick Fluegge (Ware, MA) then mashed a three-run homer out of the park for his 11th dinger of the season and junior Nick Dortona (Malden, MA-3B) knocked in the equalizer on an infield single to tie the ball-game up.
Hayes, who entered in the top of the sixth, then shut the Bears down as he retired nine of the last 10 batters he saw to record the victory and improve to 2-2 on the year. Hayes also fanned four and walked one as he set down six straight through the seventh and eighth innings.
Hayes's 1-2-3 inning in the seventh set the stage for Sanderski's homer in the bottom of the inning as he hit his first collegiate homer with two outs.
Bridgewater State crossed the plate seven times as they scored in every inning through the fifth. The Bears tagged sophomore starter Bob DeVito (Spencer, MA) with seven runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings of work. The outburst was highlighted by three home runs with two by junior Matt Greenburg (Brockton, MA-DH) and another by senior Brad Koneski (N. Dighton, MA-2B) in the fifth to lead off the frame. Greenburg hit a two-run shot in the second and a solo dinger in the fourth.
DeVito would be lifted by senior Andy Cunningham (Leicester, MA), who promptly walked in a runner to give the Bears a 7-0 advantage before he induced a ground-out to end the fifth.
Worcester State would break the shutout as they put up a crooked number in the bottom of the inning as senior Matt Hart (N. Easton, MA-CF) led off the frame with a lead-off homer and on an RBI single by sophomore Shane Coakley (Spencer, MA-DH) to trail 7-2. But Bridgewater State promptly responded with an extra run as they took advantage of an infield miscue as Koneski scored from third.
The Lancers took advantage of the Bears bullpen as they scored seven runs (five earned) off of four hits and two walks. Senior Jeff Sarahs (Whitman, MA) took the loss on the mound as he gave up the homer to Sanderski.
Up until the rally in the sixth, the Lancers had stranded eight men at the plate which included five in scoring position.
Fluegge and Dortona each tallied two hits apiece while the Bears were led by Koneski and Greenburg. The duo combined to go 4-for-7 with six of BSC's eight runs while they each drove in four.