Baseball Outslugs Ursinus for First Win of Season

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The Worcester State University baseball team earned its first win of the season on Sunday afternoon by a wild 14-13 final score in non-conference action at Osceola Heritage Stadium.

With the win, the Lancers improve to 1-2 overall on the season, while the Bears drop to 0-1.

Senior Ben Palatino (Hudson, Mass.) started off the scoring on the afternoon with a two-run homer in the top of the first, before junior Kenan Kolanda (Sterling, Mass.) added onto the lead in the second with an RBI double to put the Lancers up 3-0.

Connor Barrett got Ursinus on the board in the bottom of the second inning, ripping a two-run single to cut the Bears' deficit to 3-2. An inning later, junior Alex Mumme evened the score with an RBI double, driving in Carter Usowski.

Both teams scored single runs in the fourth inning, before Worcester State again jumped out in front with a two-run triple from freshman Andrew Miller (Naples, Fla.). Miller would score moments later on a base knock from senior Seth Leslie (Phillipston, Mass.) to extend Worcester State's lead to 7-4.

The lead was short-lived for the Lancers however, as Barrett would come up large for the Bears again, clearing the bases with a three-run triple in the bottom of the fifth, tying the game at seven at the end of five.

Ursinus took a 10-9 lead into the top of the ninth, but a pinch hit three-run bomb from senior Michael Ferrara (Easton, Mass.) gave the Lancers a 12-10 lead. One batter later, Miller hit a solo homer, followed by an RBI double from Kolanda, giving a Worcester State a 14-10 advantage heading to the bottom of the inning. 

An Usowski RBI single preceded a Mumme two run homer in the bottom of the ninth, but the rally fizzled from there, and the Lancers locked down the nail-biting win.

Freshman Aidan Abernathy (Methuen, Mass.) grabbed the win on the hill on the day, recording 2.1 innings pitched in relief. Freshman Kyle Cravatis (Beverly, Mass.) came into the game in the ninth to record his first collegiate save.

Junior Kevin Larkin (Rocky Hill, Conn.) led the Lancers with three hits and three runs scored on the afternoon, with Ferrara, Miller, and Kolanda all recording three runs batted in.

Worcester State will look to keep the bats hot early Monday morning when they retake the field in Florida against Keene State at 9:15 a.m.

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