MCLA Splits Doubleheader at MMA

MCLA Earns Split with Game 2 Victory

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. -- Senior Tyler Spofford's (Sharon Springs, N.Y.) RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning sparked a three-run rally that lifted Massachusetts Maritime to a 4-3 triumph over the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in the opening game of a Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader Sunday afternoon at Commodore Hendy Field.

MCLA seniors Cyrus Curtis (Bourne, Mass.) and Andrew Gaines (Holyoke, Mass.) combined on a four-hitter in the nightcap to give MCLA a 4-2 triumph and a split of the twinbill.

Spofford's two-out double in the bottom of the sixth of the opener snapped a 1-1 tie and gave the host Buccaneers (6-8, 1-3 MASCAC) the one-run cushion, and both he and fellow senior Mark Mozelak (New Hartford, Conn.) scored on an error to give Massachusetts Maritime what would prove to be a pair of crucial insurance runs. The visiting Trailblazers (10-5, 3-1 MASCAC) received a sacrifice fly from senior Cory Burtman (Norwood, Mass.) and an RBI double by senior Derek Gibbons (Rochester, Mass.) to close to within a run, but junior David Hike (Riverview, Fla.) induced a liner to third with the tying and lead runs on base to end the contest for the hosts.

Freshman Jonathan Smith (Weymouth, Mass.) collected a pair of hits in the opening game victory for the Buccaneers, as sophomore Nick Levitre (Grafton, Mass.) allowed five hits and struck out seven over 6 1/3 innings to pick up the win on the mound and Hike recorded the final two outs to notch his first save of the spring. Sophomore John Ripepi (Amsterdam, N.Y.) rapped out three hits in the first game setback for MCLA, as junior James Greeley (Newton, Mass.) went the distance on the mound for the Trailblazers, allowing five hits and a pair of earned runs while fanning six.

MCLA jumped out to a 3-0 lead in its first at-bat of the nightcap on a Burtman double and a pair of RBI singles by sophomores Joe Parillo (West Springfield, Mass.) and Paul Procopio (Pittsfield, Mass.), and the visitors plated their final tally in the fourth on an infield single by Gibbons. Mozelak's fielder's choice groundout in the sixth got the Buccaneers on the board, and the hosts had the tying run at the plate in the frame before Gaines recorded a strikeout to end the inning. Freshman Nick Montalto's (South Yarmouth, Mass.) RBI double in the seventh accounted for the other Massachusetts Maritime run, as the Bucs again had the tying run at the plate but could not convert in their final at-bat.

Curtis allowed three hits and an unearned run over 5 2/3 innings to improve to 3-1 on the mound for MCLA, as Gaines recorded the final four outs for his fourth save of the season. Montalto rapped out a pair of hits in the setback for Massachusetts Maritime, as Hike allowed six hits and two earned runs over five innings with seven strikeouts in taking the setback on the mound for the Bucs.

Massachusetts Maritime hosts Coast Guard in a non-league outing on Wednesday afternoon at Commodore Hendy Field beginning at 3:00 p.m., while MCLA hosts Springfield in a non-league contest on Monday afternoon in North Adams, Mass. that begins at 3:30 p.m.