MCLA gets swept on the road

Courtest of Mass Maritime Athletics

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. --  Senior Aram Mulhern's (Taunton, Mass.) RBI double in the bottom of the fifth plated the winning run that lifted Massachusetts Maritime to a 4-3 nightcap victory over MCLA that completed a sweep of a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Commodore Hendy Field.  The Buccaneers received a complete-game three-hit shutout performance on the mound from junior Keith Sanchez (Monroe Township, N.J.) to notch a 7-0 triumph in the opener.

With the sweep, Massachusetts Maritime qualified for the first time in school history for the MASCAC Baseball Championships, which begin on Thursday, May 2^nd with single elimination first round action.  The Buccaneers are seeded sixth in this year's tournament and will take on third-seeded Westfield State in that first round contest at Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass. on Thursday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.

An RBI triple by junior Bob Lee (Braintree, Mass.), followed by a run-scoring groundout off the bat of senior Tyler Genereux (Duxbury, Mass.), staked the host Buccaneers (11-18, 5-9 MASCAC) to a 2-0 first inning advantage in the nightcap, but the visiting Trailblazers (3-24, 2-12 MASCAC) evened matters in the third on an RBI groundout by sophomore Chase Preite (North Adams, Mass.) and a run-scoring single by junior Cody Weaver (Highland, N.Y.).  MCLA took a 3-2 edge in the fourth when sophomore Rory Slattery (Pittsfield, Mass.) led off with a single and came all the way around to score on a pair of errors, but Massachusetts Maritime forged a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the frame when freshman Matt King (Scituate, Mass.) led off with a double, advanced to third on a sacrifice and scored on junior Matt Pelletier's (Bradford, Mass.) RBI single.  The hosts plated the deciding fifth inning tally after junior pinch-runner Brendan O'Kane (Pocasset, Mass.) advanced to second on a sacrifice and to third on a wild pitch before scoring on Mulhern's double, and sophomore T.J. Notarangelo (Foxboro, Mass.) took care of the rest on the mound for the Buccaneers, as he worked around a pair of walks in recording the final six outs to seal the twinbill sweep.

Lee and sophomore Bobby Rosano (North Reading, Mass.) each collected two of Massachusetts Maritime's nine hits in the nightcap triumph, as the hosts also received a triple off the bat of freshman Everett Walsh (Marstons Mills, Mass.) and a single from senior Zachary Sullivan (Barnstable, Mass.).  Notarangelo went the distance to earn his third victory in four decisions on the spring for the Buccaneers, scattering five hits and fanning nine along the way.  Senior Joe Duncan (Dalton, Mass.) rapped out two of MCLA's five hits in the second contest, as sophomore Tyler Benoit (North Adams, Mass.) went the distance and struck out three for the Trailblazers.

Sullivan gave Sanchez the only run he would need with an RBI single in the bottom of the first of the opener for the hosts, who added two more tallies in the third on Genereux's RBI single as well as a fielder's choice by Rosano.  Massachusetts Maritime broke things open in the late innings with two runs in the fifth on an error and Lee's RBI double, and the Buccaneers closed out the scoring with two runs in the sixth on another error and Pelletier's run-scoring single.  Sanchez threw 55 of his 83 pitches for strikes in fanning eight and notching his second win of the season with the shutout for the hosts, who received two hits from Genereux and Sullivan in the lid-lifter as part of a seven-hit attack.  Benoit collected two hits in the opening game setback for MCLA, as freshman Robert Jutras (Readsboro, Vt.) allowed just three earned runs and struck out six over 5 2/3 innings on the mound for the Trailblazers.

Massachusetts Maritime is scheduled to host Babson in a non-league outing on Wednesday afternoon at Commodore Hendy Field beginning at 3:00 p.m., while MCLA hosts Norwich in a non-league twinbill on Sunday afternoon in North Adams, Mass. beginning at Noon.