Ninth Inning Battle Sees Lancers Felled by Rams

Worcester, MA- After completing just 5.5 half inning yesterday before a storm rolled in, the Lancers baseball (15-6, 6-2) were ready to pause that meeting and flip focus to Framingham State (5-19, 3-6)  this afternoon to close out the series season. Worcester has already claimed a 9-0 and 8-6 win over the Rams this season and is aiming for the second conference sweep of the year. 

Final

Worcester State: 10

Framingham State: 13

How it Happened:

Framingham would get the action started early in the top of the first inning with two hits, however they would be unable to pass first base with the Lancer's swift defense. Leading off for Lancers, first year Riggs Catlin (Dedham, MA) would record a single and reach second base followed by another single from junior Nathan Thurber (Framingham, MA). Senior Tyler Smith (Leominster, MA) would send Riggs home with a double to left field, land Thurber on third and allow himself to reach second base for the early lead. First year Christopher Mondesir (Roslindale, MA) would be awarded a walk that he will take full advantage of and see it through to home, ending the first inning on a 3-0 score advantage for the Lancers. 

The second inning found the Rams getting lucky when a single paired with a walk and a balk would advance them through the diamond and to home base to cut the lead to just two runs. Worcester would again widen the gap during the bottom half with senior Xavier Quezada (Providence, RI) adding another run to put the lead back at three. 

The top of third would remain with the same score despite Framingham's many attempts but at the bottom of the third, Mondesir would cross for another run, bringing the third inning to an end with a score of 5-1. 

The Rams would be eager to score a run top of the fourth inning and their efforts would pay off as they landed their second run of the game. Worcester would not allow the run to stand uncontested and would make quick work to have the bases loaded, with the first run of the inning made by Quezada, followed by another run scored by sophomore Ryan Jewett (Natick, MA).

Top of the fifth inning would come to a quick close, thanks to the Lancers spectacular defense while the bottom would allow Mondesir to score yet again off an RBI from Jewett.

Framingham would gain some luck going into the sixth inning and score their third run of the game, following it up with a two run homer two batters in at the top of the seventh as they aimed to work their way back into the battle and avoid the series sweep. The Rams would tag on an additional run to cut the lead to just runs. 

Determined to bridge the gap, Framingham would add another run to their score to slim the lead to one run but a Catlin solo homer would provide additional breathing room for the Lancers. The top of the ninth would see the Rams giving it their all to see a bottom of the inning as they put an early runner on and the tying run at the plate. With just a single out recorded the Rams would add a second runner followed by the lead runner on base to load up the bases. A Rams single to center would find Framingham balancing the score and runners still on second and third. A follow up single by the Rams would send the lead across the plate and tag on the second out of the inning as Framingham grabbed their first lead of the game. 

The Rams would work the Lancers pitchers as they worked their way back to a bases loaded situation that a further single from the Rams would see two more runs come across the plate and a 12-9 score on the board. A final bases loaded walk would give the Rams a 13-9 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Worcester would grab a run back in the bottom as Jewett would double to left center and bring Mondesir home for a double digit score for Worcester but they were unable to counter the ninth rally of the Rams, falling 13-10.

What's Next:

Worcester State (15-7, 6-3) continues their conference schedule on Friday with a trip to fellow top seeded Bridgewater State for the start of a crucial series that could hold major ramifications for the top seed in the postseason tournament.