Baseball Powers Past Rivier College

Framingham, MA - Junior centerfielder Dave Leach (Chelmsford, MA) went 3-for-3 at the plate with a grand slam, four runs scored and four RBI as the Framingham State College baseball team defeated Rivier College 23-6 at Bowditch Field today in non-conference action.  With the win, the Rams move to 4-13 on the season, while the Raiders fall to 0-5.

Rivier College took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as juniors Chris Hunt (Lisbon, NH) and Ryan O'Connor (Medford, MA) led off the game with back to back singles and after a walk Hunt scored on a fielder's choice to give the Raiders their only lead of the day. 

The Rams came back to take the lead for good in the bottom of the first as Leach led off with a double to left, advanced to third on a wild pitch and after a walk to Steven Tramontozzi (Watertown, MA) scored on a sacrifice fly to right by sophomore shortstop Joe Sheehan (Burlington, MA).  The Rams loaded the bases on a single from junior first baseman Ryan McCarthy and error by the Raiders centerfielder on a fly ball by sophomore J.J. Sorensen (Westerly, RI).  The next batter, sophomore catcher A.J. LeBrecque, walked to score a run and third baseman Matt Urban (Malden, MA) followed with a single that drove in two runs.

The Rams extended their lead to 9-1 with five runs in the bottom of the second on a two RBI single by Sheehan, an RBI single from LaBrecque and a two run homerun from Urban, which was his first collegiate homerun.  The Raiders closed the gap with two runs in the top of the third on an RBI single from Phil Woodbury (Nashua, NH) and an RBI groundout from Cory Burns (Dorchester, MA). 

The Rams would add two more runs in the bottom of the third on a two run homerun to left by Tramontozzi and would add 12 runs in the bottom of the fourth on RBI singles from freshman Chris Cole (Lynn, MA) and George Shriener (Valley Stream, NY), an RBI triple by Sheehan, and four runs on Leach's grand slam.

Sophomore Bart Venza (East Rockaway, NY) pitched 3 1/3 innings allowing six earned runs on six hits while striking out three and sophomore Jason Hutchinson (Kingston, MA) pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for the Rams.

Tramontozzi finished the game 2-for-2 at the plate with a homerun, a double, four runs scored and three RBIs, while Sheehan finished 2-for-3 with a sacrifice fly, two runs scored and four RBIs.  Urban also finished 2-for-2 with four RBIs, while Cole, Shriener and LeBrecque each drove in two runs.

The Rams return to action on Saturday as they travel to Bridgewater State for a double header beginning at noon, while the Raiders travel to Colby-Sawyer tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.