Baseball Splits with Mass. Maritime in Sunday Afternoon Doubleheader

WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester State University and Massachusetts Maritime each picked up a win and a loss in Sunday afternoon's Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) doubleheader, played at the Kevin D. Lyons Diamond at Rockwood Park.  

With the split, Worcester State moves to 7-11 and 1-3 in the MASCAC, while Mass. Maritime remains at the .500 mark at 7-7 overall and 2-2 in the league.

GAME ONE: Worcester State 4, Mass. Maritime 3

The Lancers edged Mass. Maritime by a score of 4-3 in the first game of the afternoon as Kevin Larkin (Bristol, Conn.), Kenan Kolanda (Sterling, Mass.), and Jimmy Sheehan (Oxford, Mass.) collected two hits apiece in the win. Sheehan registered a 1.000 on base percentage with two doubles and one walk. He also led the team in RBI with two.

Mass. Maritime's Logan Sullo (Acushnet, Mass.) also posted a 1.000 on base percentage, going 2-for-2 with one walk and an RBI off a solo home run in the 3^rd inning. The Buccaneers' four additional hits were scattered amongst four different players.

Worcester State was the first to put a dent in the scoreboard, as they scored one run in the bottom of the 1^st on a sacrifice fly from Adam Barry (Auburn, Mass.).

Mass. Maritime knotted the score at 1-1 in the top of the 2^nd on a solo home run from Nick Haley (Hanson, Mass.), and then took the 2-1 lead in the top of the 3^rd off another solo home run from Sullo.

The Lancers powered through and stole the lead in the bottom of the 4^th inning when Sheehan drove in two runs on a double, plating Dez Aguirre (Springfield, Mass.) and Kolanda. Sheehan reached home moments later when Ben Palatino (Hudson, Mass.) hit an RBI double, advancing the score to 4-2 in the Blue and Gold's favor.

Mass. Maritime chipped away at the Lancers' lead in the top of the 7^th. The Buccaneers put two men on base from a walk and a single from Ethan O'Hare (Marshfield, Mass.). Kevin Troy (Braintree, Mass.), who had reached base on the walk, scored on a sacrifice fly from Connor Kennedy (W. Barnstable, Mass.) to trim the margin to just one. With two outs on the board and two men on base, Worcester State's relief pitcher, Kyle Baker (Fresno, Calif.), ended the game with a groundout play.

Worcester State's Kyle Sullivan (Hudson, Mass.) earned the win on the mound, while Baker earned his second save of the season. Mass. Maritime's Andrew Auld (Wakefield, Mass.) received the loss in a 5-inning performance.

GAME TWO: Mass. Maritime 7, Worcester State 6

The Buccaneers edged the Blue and Golf by a score of 7-6 in the second game of the afternoon as Mass. Maritime's Robert Dembitzki (N. Dartmouth, Mass.) led the team with three hits. Jackson Simone (Seattle, Wash.), Troy, and Nathan Anderson (E. Longmeadow, Mass.) each collected two. Troy led the team with two RBI.

Worcester State's offensive force was driven by Barry who went 3-for-3 with three RBI. A quartet of players went 2-for-4 at the plate, including Palatino, Jake Ryan (Northbridge, Mass.), Kolanda, and Aguirre.

The Buccaneers held the lead throughout the game, starting in the top of the 2^nd when Simone scored on an error by Worcester State's third baseman. They then added three runs on three hits in the 3^rd to make it a 4-0 ballgame.

Worcester State cut the visitors lead in half in the bottom of the 3^rd when Barry hit a 2-RBI double to plate Ryan and Palatino.

However, the Buccaneers saw two more runs cross the plate in the 4^th on a hit and a Lancer error.

Worcester State chipped away at the Buccaneers' lead, registering one run in the 4^th on an RBI from Palatino, and then two in the 5^th on a homer from Barry and a sacrifice fly from Mike Powers (Weymouth, Mass.) (6-5 Mass. Maritime).

The Buccaneers added another in the top of the 6^th on an RBI single from Simone, checking the score at 7-5.

Worcester State was unable to score in the 6^th but had an opportunity to come back in the 7^th. The Lancers had two men on base with no outs, however a ground out and a popup put two outs on the board. With two outs, Worcester State's Kolanda scored on an error. Despite the attempted comeback with two men on base, a fly out to centerfield ended the game.

Mass. Maritime's starting pitcher, Matt Smith (Lowell, Mass.) earned his first win of the season in 3.2 innings pitched, while Simone was tabbed with the save.

Worcester State's opening pitcher, PJ Walsh (Bridgewater, Mass.) was tagged the loss in three innings pitched.

Next up, the Lancers host Assumption College in a cross-town matchup on Tuesday (Apr. 11) at 3:30 p.m. Mass. Maritime resumes play on the same date as they host Fisher in a 3:30 p.m. non-conference game.