Baseball Concludes Season with Sweep of MCLA

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Worcester State University baseball team concluded their 2016 campaign with a sweep of MCLA on Saturday afternoon (Apr. 30) as they held the Trailblazers to 10 hits in the doubleheader.

GAME ONE: Worcester State 4, MCLA 1

The Lancers were off to an early start as they scored one run in the bottom of the 1^st on an RBI single from Mike Powers (Weymouth, Mass.) , plating  Adam Barry (Auburn, Mass.) for the run. They chipped in another run in the bottom of the 2^nd when Jake Ryan (Northbridge, Mass.) hit an RBI single through the left side to score Matt Lavin (Worcester, Mass.) for the 2-0 advantage.

After only one hit apiece for each team in the next two innings, the Trailblazers were able to score one as Nate Gutmann (Adams, Mass.) hit an RBI single up the middle to score Brett LaBonte (Wareham, Mass.). The Lancers responded with one in the bottom side, as George Bielizna (Danbury, Conn.) hit an RBI double.

Worcester State did not allot MCLA another run throughout the remainder of the game, as their pitcher, Tyler Barrie (Oxford, Mass.) only allowed one hit in the 6^th and one in the 7^th. Worcester State added one more run in the bottom of the 6^th to close the game out with a 4-1 score.

Worcester State's Ryan and Barry led the Lancers batting .667 (2-3) against MCLA's pitcher, Liam Nolan (Pittsfield, Mass.). Bielizna, Powers, and Kevin Valentine (Milford, Mass.) each logged one hit apiece to mark the Lancers' seven hits in game one.

MCLA also registered seven hits as Gutmann led the team going 2-for-2 with the sole RBI. LaBonte and Andrew Casteel (Fairhaven, Mass.) both batted at the .500 mark, going 1-for-2.

On the mound, Barrie registered the win as he pitched for seven innings and only allowed one run on seven hits. Nolan suffered the loss, pitching six innings and allowing four runs (one unearned).

GAME TWO: Worcester State 13, MCLA 0

Worcester State racked up 13 runs on 12 hits in the 13-0 shutout over MCLA in game two. Powers batted a perfect 1.000 as he went 4-for-4 with a double and two RBI. James Sheehan (Oxford, Mass.) batted .667 (2-3) with a triple and a game-high five RBI. Lavin also batted 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run.

The Lancers started the scoring early as they plated two runs in the bottom of the 1^st. They then added hefty eight runs in the bottom of the 2^nd on six hits and one Trailblazer error. Sheehan scored two runs on his triple from where he reached home plate himself on a wild pitch for three to start the 2^nd out. After Mike Ferrara (Easton, Mass.) walked, back-to-back singles from Barry, Bielizna, Powers, and John Boyd (Worcester, Mass.) accounted for three more. They closed the inning out with RBI's from a walk and a fielder's choice for the early 10-0 advantage.

Two more Lancer runs crossed the plate in the bottom of the 4^th when Sheehan singled to right center. The Blue and Gold rounded up their scoring in the bottom of the 6^th when Lavin hit an RBI single to left field.

Worcester State only allowed three Trailblazer hits –one came in the first inning from Gutmann, a double from Joe Dimassimo (Dalton, Mass.) in the 2^nd, and their last in the top of the 7^th on a single through the right side from Ryan Shook (Pittsfield, Mass.).

Kyle Sullivan (Hudson, Mass.) did the majority of the pitching for the Lancers, as he went for six innings and only allowed two hits while retiring three at the plate. Neil Begley (Springfield, Mass.) closed the game out with one run in the 7^th inning. MCLA's Todd Hunt (Cambridge, NY) absorbed the loss with his start on the mound for the Trailblazers.

Worcester State concludes their 2016 season with a 14-25 overall record, and went 3-11 in the MASCAC. MCLA rounds up the season with a 4-25 overall record, and 0-13 in the conference.