No. 4 Worcester State to Face No. 6 Framingham State in MASCAC Championship

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The No. 4 seed Worcester State University baseball team scored 10 runs on 15 hits and one Framingham State error to prevail 10-3 over No. 6 Framingham State Monday afternoon in the semifinal round of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) tournament at Hagan Field.

With the win, the Lancers advance to the championship game tomorrow at 12 noon, and will once again face Framingham State after the Rams defeated No. 2 Salem State 4-3 in the later game of the afternoon. Worcester State heads into the championship game 2-0 in post season play, while the Rams sit at 1-1 in the double-elimination tournament.

Framingham State reached the board in the top of the third on an RBI double to left center from Ryan Wardell (Hudson, Mass.). However, the Lancers responded with four runs of their own in the bottom of the inning as Kenan Kolanda (Sterling, Mass.) and Adam Barry (Auburn, Mass.) hit an RBI double and single, respectively, and Mike Ferrara (Easton, Mass.) completed the inning with a two-run home run to left field for the 4-1 gain.

The Rams cut the deficit to one in the top of the sixth as they scored two runs on four hits from Jordan Pallazola (Rockport, Mass.), Kyle Pileski (Bristol, Conn.), Aaron Williams (Brockton, Mass.), and Andrew Curtis (Dracut, Mass.). Though, once again, the Lancers responded with five runs in the reverse side on RBI from Jake Ryan (Northbridge, Mass.), Ferrara, Kevin Larkin (Bristol, Conn.), and Seth Leslie (Philliptson, Mass.) to put the score at 9-3.

Worcester State tallied another run in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single from Barry to settle the score at 10-3.

Worcester State's offense was powered by Larkin, who went 4-for-5 with two RBI, Ferrara who racked up three RBI, and Barry who had two hits and two RBI. Ben Palatino (Hudson, Mass.), Ryan, Leslie and Kolanda also chipped in two hits apiece for the Blue and Gold.

On the mound, Worcester State's Luke Brennan (Worcester, Mass.) earned the win in a six-inning performance. Brennan allowed three runs on six hits and struck out a career-high nine batters. Andrew Reed (Douglas, Mass.) closed out the game only allowing two hits in three innings pitched.

For the Rams, Kyle Hodgson (Berkley, Mass.) suffered the loss in 5 2/3 innings pitched. Offensively,  Wardwell paced the Rams offense going 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI, while sophomore  Williams went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.