Lancers Take the Split with Mass. Maritime During Rosen Cancer Pink Game

Worcester, MA- The Worcester State Baseball team (11-11, 9-3) was right back in action after a late inning loss to the Buccaneers last night in a tough 7-5 loss that saw both teams bats connecting. Today's game was also played in partnership with the Rosen Cancer Awareness Fund. The Rosen Cancer Awareness Fund aims to provide a robust curriculum that supports peer-to-peer education regarding early cancer detection.  The importance of Raising Awareness in our young people, particularly Worcester State students, has never been more important and can effectively expedite important educational initiatives to curb the prevalence of late-stage cancer detection and increase longevity. Donations are currently being accepted at alumni.worcester.edu.

Final

Worcester State: 9

MMA: 8

How it Happened:

In an attempt to steal for the Buccaneers in the top of the first, junior catcher/infielder Alan Carpenter (Richmond, RI) threw down the base runner to help the Lancers get the first out of the game. There was stellar defense all around for the Lancers in the first inning, keeping Mass. Maritime off the board.

With an error by the infield for the Buccaneers, junior outfielder Kevin Doyle (Bridgewater, MA) found his way safely to first base. This was followed up by sophomore infielder/catcher Riggs Catlin (Dedham, MA) driving in a ground ball into the outfield, sending himself to first base and Doyle over to third base. 

Sophomore pitcher Jack Hildred (Bellingham, MA) continues to stay hot on the mound, racking in two strikeouts in the top of the second inning. 

Senior outfielder Mason Bates (Shrewsbury, MA) got things going in the bottom of the second with a walk to first base, followed by first year infielder Rusbert Martinez (Bani, DR) hitting a bouncing ground ball through the shortstop and third base players, which gave the Lancers first and second base runners with one out on the board. With two outs now, Bates and Martinez stole a base that put both players in scoring position. Good defense by the Buccaneers would maintain a scoreless game through two innings. 

Doyle started things off for the Lancers in the bottom of the third after being hit by a pitch. The Buccaneers pitcher would balk during Catlin's at bat, allowing Doyle to advance to second base in scoring position. Catlin would send a shot down the first base line to send Doyle to home plate safely for an RBI single. Carpenter would follow it up by hitting a deep shot into left center field to advance Catlin to third base and himself safely on first, with only one out on the board. Junior outfielder Cameron Early (Worcester, MA) would hit a sac fly into right field that would send Catlin sliding into home plate, giving the Lancers a 2-0 lead in the third inning. During Bates' at bat, a wild pitch would help move Carpenter to second base. Bates sent a shot into left center field, getting another run for the Lancers from Carpenter, but Bates would get out from the tag, ending the inning for the Lancers with a 3-0 lead. 

The Buccaneers picked up one run in the top of the fourth inning to bring the lead to 3-1.

Junior infielder Ryan Jewett (Natick, MA) hit a drive deep over the left fielder's head to hit the back wall, and got safely to second base. Junior outfielder Derek De La Cruz (Providence, RI) laid down a bunt to get safely on first and advanced Jewett to third. Junior infielder Tyler Normandie laid (Lowell, MA) dropped a bunt for himself as well, and the pitcher bobbled the ball, sending Jewett to home plate for a 4-1 lead. Doyle got in on the action and sent a drive into right field, advancing each runner a base, and giving bases loaded with one out. Carpenter cleans up the bases with a grand slam deep into the right field for the Lancers, providing Worcester an 8-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. 

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Martinez earned the walk to first base. With two outs, De La Cruz hits a ground ball through the shortstop and third baseman to move the runners to first and second bases, but good defense from the Buccaneers would save them from any more damage to the scoreboard. 

Senior pitcher Steven Thomas (Worcester, MA) stept onto the mound for the Lancers in the top of the sixth inning. Buccaneers caught fire in the inning, where they showed multiple runs, including a three run home run over in right field, which brought the score to 8-6. 

To lead off the bottom of the sixth inning, Doyle sent a shot over the wall to have a lead off home run for the Lancers, extending the lead to 9-6 as Worcester aimed to hold off a late charge by the Buccaneers

Sophomore pitcher Bryce Grandbois (Detroit, MI)  took over duties on the mound for the Lancers. The Buccaneers continued their hitting streak and knocked in two more runs with one out on the board, which brought the score to 9-8 in favor of the home team. Grandbois got the game clinching strikeout, to get the Lancers the win in game one of the conference game double header.

Final

Worcester State: 5

MMA: 15

How it Happened:

Senior Nolan Turner (Barnstable, MA) gets the start for the Lancers to lead off game two of the day. After a couple of base runners got on, the Lancers cleaned up the top of the inning to keep the game scoreless. 

De La Cruz swung on the first pitch and beat the throw to the bag and got on first base for a lead off base hit. Normandie followed it up with a sac bunt which advanced De La Cruz to second base with one out. With Catlin up to the plate, De La Cruz stole third base, but a wild throw would allow him to run home safely, which gave the Lancers a 1-0 lead. Catlin would then hit a ground ball down the middle to keep it in the infield and beat the throw to first base. Carpenter hits a slow roller in the infield, and just beats the throw to keep him safe and the inning alive with runners on first and second bases. Catlin's attempt to steal third base was successful, which gave runners at the corners for the Lancers. A pop up in the infield would end the inning with a 1-0 Lancer lead.

Turner came into the top of the second inning on a heater from the mound, recording three strikeouts for the Lancers. 

To lead off the bottom of the second, Bates hit a line drive over the shortstop's head to get the lead off runner. A drop by the catcher would allow Bates to steal second base. Jewett steps up to the play and hits a shot right at the second baseman, who bobbled the ball behind him and Bates rounded third and got home safely for an RBI single. In a pick off attempt to try and get Jewett out, there was a bad throw by the pitcher that allowed Jewett to round second and slide into third safely. A tough groundball from Normandie to the shortstop helped make him safe at first, which got the Lancers another run from Jewett. 

A base hit by the Buccaneers would get a runner on first base. Turner tries to pick off the runner at first, but it gets by Martinez and the runner starts taking off for the next base. He rounds second and heads to third, but Martinez scooped up the ball in foul territory and launched the ball over to Normandie at third base to get the runner out in the top of the third inning. 

The Buccaneers had a strong showing on the offensive side of the fourth inning with multiple hits, resulting in two runs and no outs on the board. Bases got loaded for the Buccaneers after an error on the infield, and is then followed by a base hit to send one player home. Afterwards there was a long shot over the center fielder's head to send two more runners home with one out. Another base hit in the infield would send another runner home and all other players safe on base, which made the score 6-3 in favor of the Buccaneers. After bases were loaded again, the Lancers attempted to turn two, they got the out at second base, but the runner was safe at first. In an attempt to steal the next bases, the Lancers pick off the runner going home to retire the inning, with a score of 7-3 Buccaneers heading into the bottom of the fourth. 

After a ground out for the lead off runner, Martinez hit a ground ball past the shortstop to get the Lancers going. However, stellar defense from the Buccaneers would retire the fourth inning.

Lancers made a statement in the top of the fifth with only three batters and three outs, led with great pitching from Turner. 

With two outs on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning, Catlin and Carpenter followed each other with base hits that got the Lancers two base runners, but a flyout afterwards would end the inning.

In the top of the sixth inning, the Buccaneers had a lead off triple, then followed by a sac fly to score another run, which brought the total to 8-3. A pitching change for the Lancers would bring first-year Collin Moody (Dudley, MA) onto the mound. A few more hits and a walk saw another run scored for the away team, extending the lead to 9-3. Another base hit into right field brought in two more Buccaneers, but the Lancers were able to tag out the runner going to third for the second out of the inning. Bates makes a great catch on the run that got the final out of the inning.

The Lancers tried to make a late game push, as Jewett got a walk to first base, followed by De La Cruz hitting a hard ball into the outfield that made Jewett sprint to third base and himself onto first. Normandie hit a shot into center field that got the RBI single and runners on first and second. A missed catch by the Buccaneers awarded Doyle the base hit, and sent De La Cruz to get home safely. The runners are on second and third after Doyle stole second base, and the score is now 11-5 in favor of the Buccaneers with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Catlin walked on the next at bat, which gave the Lancers bases loaded, but the away team capitalized on good fielding to get out of the inning with no more runs scored.

The Lancers send sophomore pitcher Bobby Winkler Jr. (Longmeadow, MA) to the mound in the top of the seventh. A few walks in the inning helped the Buccaneers extend the lead to 13-5. Lancers check first-year pitcher Connor Gardell (Worcester, MA) onto the mound to try to close out the top of the seventh inning. A two RBI single brought the score to 15-5, followed by a flyout to right field, caught by Doyle that would end the top of the seventh inning. 

In the bottom of the seventh, Bates earned the walk to first base, and then a ground ball by Martinez got himself out, but advanced Bates to second base. Bates would then steal on the very next pitch to third and slide there safely. A groundout to the pitcher would be the final out of the game, with a final score of 15-5 in favor of the Buccaneers.

What's Next:

Worcester State (12-12, 10-4) is back in action on Monday when they move out of conference to take on Nichols on Monday at 3pm.