LYNN, Mass. - The Albertus Magnus College baseball team split a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) doubleheader with rival Lasell University on Saturday (March 27) afternoon at Fraser Field. The Falcons defeated the Lasers in game one, 7-5, but lost game two, 3-2, on a walk-off double.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE (GAME 1): Albertus Magnus 7 | Lasell 5 (7 innings)
MATCH-UP: This is the 22nd and 23rd all-time meeting between these two teams.
LOCATION: Fraser Field | Lynn, Mass.
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lasell came out of the dugout ready to play as the Lasers scored its first run of the day in the bottom of the first behind an RBI fielder choice from Matt Bischof. Albertus countered in the top of the second as Sean Jefferson (West Haven, Conn.) found himself on second following a Laser pass ball, but a groundout to third from Chris Imbarrato (Township of Washington, N.J.) ended the tying threat.
Lasell continued to swing the bat and added a solo run in the bottom of the second. With one out and a runner in scoring position, Lorenzo Doris drove in Wyatt Sihvonen on a sacrifice fly to center, giving the hosts the 2-0 advantage.
It was all Albertus in the top of the second as the Falcons scored six runs on four hits and capitalized on two Laser errors to take a commanding 6-2 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth. With one out and runners on second and third, Jefferson connected on a pitch that drove in a pair of runs before Jefferson found himself crossing home plate following an RBI double from Alex Kozlowski (Shelton, Conn.). Caden Cloutier (Wallingford, Conn.) kept the momentum going for the Falcons as the sophomore outfielder singled to center field allowing Kozlowski to score and advancing Imbarrato to second. Despite two outs on the board, Imbarrato and Nahsean Murphy (Manchester, Conn.) managed to score before a lineout to center field by Joseph Matthews (Anaheim, Calif.) ended the inning.
An inning and a half later, Lasell battled back to within two, 6-4, following a two-run inning highlighted by a fielder's choice and a hit-by-pitch with bases loaded and one out. Solid pitching from Joseph Mascari (North Branford, Conn.) kept the Lasers at bay as he retired the final two batters with strikeouts.
The Lasers kept the threat alive in the bottom of the sixth as the hosts capitalized on a balk by senior right-hander Dan DeBartolomeo (Fairfield, Conn.) to cut the lead to one, 6-5. This didn't slow down the Falcons offensively in the top of the seventh, instead gave the Falcons the bump needed to secure the road win, 7-5. Albertus' final run of the game came in the seventh when Brandon Clark (Cheshire, Conn.) doubled to right-center, driving in Murphy from second with an out to spare.
TOP PERFORMERS
- WP: Ike Flannery (Wethersfield, Conn.) (1-0) | LP: Darek Lallo (0-1) | Jay Palais (Farmington, Conn.) (Sv. 1)
- This is the Falcons' ninth all-time win against the Lasers.
- Albertus out-hit Lasell, 10-6.
- Clark, Jefferson, and Cloutier led the Falcons' attack with two hits each, while Jefferson posted a team-best two RBI.
- The Falcons' bullpen slammed the door on the Lasers in the final three innings, striking out five while allowing only one earned run.
- Lasell had six different players register at least one hit over 28 at-bats.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE (GAME 2): Lasell 3 | Albertus Magnus 2 (7 innings)
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (1-1, 1-1 GNAC) | Lasell (2-6, 1-1 GNAC)
LOCATION: Fraser Field | Lynn, Mass.
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
Fifth-year senior Matt Warren (Wolcott, Conn.) opened game two for the Falcons recording his 14th career home run in the top of the first to give the Falcons the early 1-0 advantage against the Lasers.
An inning later, Albertus struck again this time from Kozlowski, who recorded his second RBI of the afternoon on a groundout to shortstop, drove in Jefferson from third to extend the visitors' lead to 2-0. Cloutier tried to keep things going for the Falcons as he found himself on third following a single and a stolen base, but a strikeout from Nhasean Murphy (Manchester, Conn.) ended the inning.
After a few quiet at-bats, Albertus came alive in the top of the sixth as Clark and Jefferson were in scoring position following a pair of errors by Lasell's third baseman. Despite a strikeout from Vincent Gualtieri (Norwich, Conn.), Kozlowski loaded the bases after being hit by a pitch, but solid defense by the hosts kept the Falcons at bay for one more inning.
Fifth-year senior Shawn McFeggan (Anaheim, Calif.) continued to dominate the Lasers' offense, holding the hosts to only one-hit heading into the bottom of the seventh. A lead-off walk from Lasell's Sean Doris started the late rally, forcing Coach Leighton to make a pitching change. Sophomore Ricardo Torres (New Haven, Conn.) came in to relieve McFeggan and helped guide the Falcons to their first out of the inning, which was a fly out to right-field. With one out and the bases loaded following back-to-back singles, Lasell's Joe Sullivan came in clutch as he doubled to right field, allowing the game-winning run to score, 3-2.
TOP PERFORMERS
- WP: Lorenzo Davis (1-1) | LP: Ricardo Torres (0-1)
- McFeggan finished the game allowing just one hit and struck out four batters over six innings of play.
- Albertus out-hit the hosts by a slim 6-4 margin.
- Cloutier finished game two with a team-high two hits.
- Matthews, Clark, Warren, and Jefferson each registered a hit for the Falcons.
- Four different Lasell players posted a hit.
