Baseball Eliminated from MASCAC Championship with 5-3 Loss to Salem State

Bridgewater, Mass. – The Framingham State University baseball team rallied for a pair of runs in the ninth inning, but it was not enough as the Rams were eliminated from the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Baseball Championship with a 5-3 loss to fourth-seeded Salem State University on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Park in Bridgewater.

Salem (31-11-1) advances to the championship round on Sunday as the Vikings will take on top-seeded Bridgewater State at noon.  Framingham ends the season with a record of 26-16 and will await word of a possible invitation to the ECAC New England Baseball Tournament on Monday.

Framingham got on the board in the bottom of the first as freshman Cam Couillard (North Andover, Mass.) singled with one out and went to third on a two-out single by senior Pedro Acevedo (Fall River, Mass.).  Couillard then scored on the back end of a double steal as Acevedo slid under the tag safely into second with his second stolen base of the season.

Salem jumped ahead with four runs in the top of the second as Matt Burgess (Kingston, Mass.) belted a three-run homer and Kevin Salines (Melrose, Mass.) added an RBI double later in the frame. 

Nick Conti (Lynn, Mass.) gave the Vikings a 5-1 lead in the fourth with a run-scoring single.

Salem made a pair of two-out fielding errors in the bottom of the ninth which led to two runs scoring for the Rams, but Salem starter Ed Deren (Westford, Mass.) fanned Justin Forman (Watertown, Mass.) with runners at the corners to end the game.

Deren (6-3) went the distance on the mound for the Vikings as he allowed three runs (one earned) on nine hits with three walks and five strikeouts.  He also hit two batters and stranded 11 base runners.

Salines, Steve Buitkus (Reading, Mass.), Brett Cahill (Gloucester, Mass.) and Kyle McElroy (Newburyport, Mass.) paced the Salem 12-hit attack with two hits apiece.

Sophomore Matt Roberge (Lowell, Mass.) went 3-for-4 to lead the Ram offense, while Couillard and senior Chris Blydell (Lynn, Mass.) each added a pair of hits.

Freshman Ryan Bowen (Hudson, Mass.) suffered the loss on the hill for Framingham.  Bowen (4-2) went the first 6 2/3 innings giving up five runs on 11 hits with a walk and three strikeouts.

Release courtesy of BSU Sports Information.