Kirby Leads Baseball to Game One Victory in Split with Fitchburg State
Watertown, Mass. – Senior Zack Kirby (Rochester, Mass.) tossed eight innings of scoreless ball in the opener of a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) baseball doubleheader this evening at Victory Field as the Rams defeated Fitchburg State 1-0 in extra innings before falling 2-0 in the nightcap.
With the split, the Rams improve to 12-6 on the year and are 3-1 in the conference, while the Falcons move to 8-7 overall and are 1-2 in the MASCAC.
Kirby was impressive on the hill in the opener as he improved his season record to 2-1. Kirby allowed just four hits in the complete game effort while striking out ten.
Senior Ryan Magni suffered the loss for the Falcons allowing just one earned run on three hits with 11 strikeouts. Magni carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning.
After reaching on a leadoff double to right field to start off the eighth inning, junior R.J. Gray (Lowell, Mass.) would come around to score the winning run on a ground rule double to the gap in right center by freshman Jordan Pallazola (Rockport, Mass.).
Fitchburg State nearly got on the board in the bottom of the seventh with the winning run 90 feet away in Clayton Beaulieu, but Kirby got Roel Fernandez to ground out to second to get out of the jam and preserve the scoreless tie.
Pierce Hans' double in the bottom of the fifth inning would result in two runs as the Falcons received a complete game shutout from Kyle Cutler for the 2-0 win in the second game of the doubleheader.
After Fernandez singled to left field and moved Donald Geloso into scoring position, Hans found the gap in left center for the bases clearing double to give Fitchburg State the 2-0 advantage.
The Rams threatened with a comeback attempt in the top of the seventh with two consecutive singles by Gray and senior John Gill (Hudson, Mass.), but Cutler finished the game with his 11th strikeout of the night.
Hans finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Cutler improved to 3-0 on the year giving up just five hits and no walks.
Dillon Corliss suffered the loss for Framingham State despite throwing six innings of six hit ball with one earned run and two strikeouts.
Junior Jake Wardwell (Hudson, Mass.) went 2-for-2 for the Rams in the second game.
The Rams are back in action Monday night when they host the University of Massachusetts Boston in a non-conference contest at the New England Baseball Complex in Northborough.