Baseball Blanks Worcester State Twice 4-0 & 6-0
Worcester, Mass. – The Framingham State baseball shutout the Worcester State Lancers in both games of a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) doubleheader this afternoon at the Lyons Diamond on the campus of Worcester State. With the pair of wins, Framingham State improves to 10-14 on the year and 5-3 in the MASCAC, while the Lancers dip to 10-18 overall and 1-7 in the MASCAC.
The Rams scored all the runs they would need in the top of the second inning of the opener. Ryan Connelly (West Roxbury, Mass.) started the inning with and single and freshman Anthony Venuti (Braintree, Mass.) followed with a double that scored Connelly. Venuti moved to third on an out and came around to score on a double from Jake Wardwell (Hudson, Mass.). The Rams strung together three singles from Matt Brockett (Guilford, Conn.), Ryan Wardwell (Hudson, Mass.) and Jon Chapman (Waltham, Mass.) to make it 4-0.
Framingham State pitchers Manny Powers (Malden, Mass.), Brendan McDonough (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Christopher Riga (Westfield, Mass.) held the Lancers to only four hits throughout the game. Powers pitched five innings to earn the win and allowed just two hits with two strikeouts. McDonough and Riga each came in for one inning surrendering a single hit apiece.
Worcester's only hits came from Jake Ryan (Northbridge, Mass.) who went 2-for-3 with a double, Michael Powers (Weymouth, Mass.) who went 1-for-3, and John Boyd (Worcester, Mass.) who also went 1-for-3.
The Rams were led by Ryan Wardwell who went 3-for-4 with an RBI, while J. Wardwell went 2-for-2.
Worcester State's Kevin Valentine (Milford, Mass.) suffered the loss as he went three innings and allowed four runs on nine hits.
After shutting out the Lancers in game one, the Rams did it again in the nightcap as they scored six runs on ten hits to conclude the day with a sweep of the series. Al Wallach (Nahant, Mass.) earned the shutout as he pitched a complete game scattering just five hits.
The Rams scored one run in the top of the first, two in the second and three in the third to account for their six runs.
Ryan Wardwell started the scoring out in the top of the 1st when he belted a double to left center scoring Connelly for the early 1-0 advantage.
The Rams managed to score two runs in the second when RJ Gray (Lowell, Mass.) started the inning with a rocket down the left field line. Gray advanced to scoring position when the next batter grounded out, and then eventually scored on an RBI single from Cole Josselyn (Hampton, NH). Josselyn then reached home on a single up the middle from Connelly.
After Worcester State recorded two outs in the top of the third, Powers doubled and Gray followed with a single through the left side. Venuti plated Powers with an RBI-single up the middle and Joesselyn closed the scoring out for the Rams as he plated two runs on an RBI single to centerfield
For the Lancers, Mike Ferrara (Easton, Mass.) counted for three of the Lancers' five hits. Josh Pageau (Millbury, Mass.) and Michael Powers (Weymouth, Mass.) grabbed the remaining two.
Kyle Sullivan (Hudson, Mass.) marked his fourth loss of the season, pitching six innings and giving up six runs on 10 hits. Sullivan struck out six batters while on the mound.
The Lancers return to action tomorrow (Apr. 19) when they host Brandeis in a 3:00 p.m. non-conference game. Framingham State also resumes play tomorrow when they will travel to Endicott for a 3:30 p.m. matchup.