Slattery Saves Day, Shuts Down Fitchburg State In Sweep

Fitchburg, MA --- Worcester State defeated Fitchburg State, 2-1 and 5-4, this afternoon in MASCAC baseball action. Sophomore Shaun Slattery (Gardner, MA) recorded saves in both contests to eclipse the single-season mark that was set by Kevin Hayes last season. Slattery now has a school-record eight stops.

With the win WSU is now 21-10 and 8-4 in conference play while the Falcons dip to 14-17 and 4-8 in the conference. The Lancers also notched their 12th 20-win season since 1998 as they are now tied for second in the MASCAC with Salem State, who split with Framingham State earlier.

Game one proved to be a pitcher's duel as Fitchburg State sophomore Alex Teal (Malden, MA) and Worcester State's Bobby DeVito (Webster, MA) battled all contest. The Lancers were able to hold off a late Falcon comeback, taking the opener, 2-1 for their seventh MASCAC victory of the season.

On the hill, Teal (3-4) was strong for Fitchburg State, firing all seven innings with eight strikeouts and only six hits allowed. DeVito (4-1) mirrored Teal over his six-inning outing for Worcester State, scattering five hits and one run, while fanning five.

Senior Nick Fluegge (Ware, MA) provided the big spark for the Lancers, connecting for a solo homer in the first, while classmate Corey McDonald (Hudson, MA) plated a Worcester State run with a single through the left side in the fifth. Fluegge's dinger was his team-leading seventh of the season.

Fitchburg State cut its deficit in half over the fifth frame as junior Frank Yavorosky (Westminster, MA) plated senior John Phelan (Walpole, MA) with an RBI single. Phelan started the Falcons, two-out rally with a walk and later stole second for his 53rd career steal, the program's all-time mark. The steal set up the Falcons first run of the contest as Yavorosky followed with an RBI base-knock to right.

Trailing 2-1 heading into the final frame, Fitchburg State was able to put the lead-off runner on with a walk, but Slattery worked out of the jam to register save number seven. With one out, Phelan drove a shot to the right-center gap, but sophomore Chris Creen (Worcester, MA) had a good jump on the ball, tracked it down and doubled up the Falcons runner to end the game.

Yavorosky led the Falcons offensively, hitting 2-for-3 with one RBI, while senior Dave Alexander (Torrington, CT) finished 1-for-1 with a pair of walks. Fluegge paced the Lancers attack, going 2-for-3 with a double, a homerun and one RBI, while McDonald also finished with a pair of hits and one RBI.

DeVito is now 16-3 in his four-year career at Worcester State and tied for second with Jeff Paladino (1997-00). DeVito is also just three punch outs off of former teammate Mike Borowiec's (2006-07, 08-10) mark of 146 for fifth place on the all-time strikeout list.

In the nightcap, Worcester State again held off a late inning, Fitchburg State comeback, posting a 5-4 victory for its 21st victory of the season.

The Lancers got on the scoreboard first, plating a trio of runs in the top of the second inning for an early 3-0 lead. Metzger sparked the Lancer rally with an RBI single, while freshman JD Salinas (Fredericksburg, TX) and McDonald connected for back-to-back run scoring doubles.

Worcester State added pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning, using two hits and one Falcon error in the process. The big blow of the inning came off the bat McDonald, who laced an RBI double to deep left field and later scored on an errant Fitchburg State throw.

The Falcons cut the Lancer lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the fifth stanza, taking advantage of a costly error with two outs. Senior Erik DiMauro (Foxboro, MA) reached on the Worcester State miscue and moved to third as Phelan belted a double to left field.  Yavorosky followed suit one batter later, putting the Falcons on the board with a two-run single to center.

In the sixth, Fitchburg State touched for a pair again, loading the bases with a single from Alexander and walks from Matt Zajac (New Hartford, CT) and Eric O'Reilly (Gardner, MA). DiMauro capped the Falcons rally with a line drive to left field, plating the pair and bringing the Falcons within one (5-4).

Fitchburg State continued to threaten in the inning as Phelan followed with another walk to load the bases, but Worcester State called to Slattery to end the Falcons surge. Slattery held Fitchburg State scoreless over the final 1.1 innings to post his eighth save of the year.

For the Falcons, sophomore Tynan Flegg (Calgary, AB) suffered the loss, yielding five runs (four earned) over six innings of work. Junior Cruz Rosado (Clinton, MA) earned his fourth victory for the Lancers (4-1), allowing just four hits and four runs (two earned) over the first 5.2 innings of the contest. Flegg evens out to 4-4 on the season.

Fitchburg State returns to action on Thursday as it hosts Becker College at 3:30. Worcester State will travel to play Fisher College on Thursday at 7 PM at Lynn English.