FRANKLIN, Mass. – The Albertus Magnus College baseball team dropped both ends of a road doubleheader to the Bulldogs of Dean College on Saturday, April 10. Matt Warren (Wolcott, Conn.) and Justen Rodriguez (Waterbury, Conn.) led the Falcons' offense, recording seven hits between them, with two runs scored and two RBIs.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE (GAME 1): Dean 5 | Albertus Magnus 3
MATCH-UP: This is the first all-time meeting between these two teams.
LOCATION: Longley Athletic Complex
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a three-hit first inning, the Falcons got on the scoreboard in the top of the second. Rodriguez lined out to third base to start the inning before a Chris Imbarrato (Township of Washington, N.J.) single put a runner on board. A walk to sophomore Alex Kozlowski (Shelton, Conn.) put two on with one out for outfielder Nhasean Murphy (Manchester, Conn.), who reached on an error to load the bases. A Joseph Matthews (Anaheim, Calif.) ground out drove in Imbarrato for the game's first score.
The Falcons added to their lead in the top of the third. With one out, Jason Sullivan (Meriden, Conn.) connected with a pitch and drove a double into the gap to get the Falcons started. A Sean Jefferson (West Haven, Conn.) fly-out advanced Sullivan to third, where he promptly scored on an RBI single from Rodriguez.
Dean led off the bottom of the third with a double into the gap before Falcons' starter Ricardo Torres (New Haven, Conn.) struck out the next batter for the first out. A Falcons' error gave the Bulldogs an unearned run before Torres slammed the door, striking out the next two hitters he faced.
The Falcons made two quick outs in the top of the fourth, when Brandon Clark (Cheshire, Conn.) delivered a home run to give the Falcons the 3-1 lead. Warren followed with a hit-by-pitch before a pop-out to short from Sullivan ended the inning.
The Falcons went three-up, three-down in the top of the fifth inning before the Bulldogs offense exploded for three runs in the bottom of the frame. A home run cut the Falcon lead to one, 3-2, before a walk and an RBI triple tied it at 3-all and chased Torres from the game. Joseph Mascari (North Branford, Conn.) came on in relief and allowed an RBI double to the Bulldogs Andrew Sullivan to give the hosts the 4-3 advantage before a line-out to left field nullified the damage.
The Falcons were again held scoreless in the top of the sixth. The Bulldogs added an insurance run in the bottom of the frame. With one out and a runner on first, a Bulldog double put runners on second and third. An intentional walk loaded the bases before Mascari struck out Sharnick for the second out. Jay Palais (Farmington, Conn.) relieved Mascari and walked the first batter he saw, giving the Bulldogs a two-run advantage, 5-3. Palais ended the inning by striking out the next batter
Despite a pair of walks in the last of the seventh, the Falcons could not complete the comeback, falling 5-3 to the Bulldogs.
TOP PERFORMERS
• WP: Gaten Davis (1-0) | LP: Ricardo Torres (0-2)
• Both Sullivan and Imbarrato led the Falcons with two hits apiece.
• Clark's homer is his first of the season.
• Clark joined Matthews and Rodriguez with RBI.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE (GAME 2): Dean 9 | Albertus Magnus 3
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (1-3, 1-3 GNAC) | Dean (2-0, 2-0 GNAC)
LOCATION: Longley Athletic Complex
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
Rodriguez put the first tally on the board in the top of the second inning on a long home run to give the Falcons an early 1-0 lead.
Dean responded in the bottom half of the frame. With two outs and a runner on second, a Bulldogs' double tied the game at 1-all. A wild pitch and a Falcons' error plated a second runner, giving the Bulldogs a 2-1 advantage. Freshman catcher Ty Netto (Derby, Conn.) ended the inning by throwing out a Dean base runner at second.
Down by a run in the top half of the third, the Falcons bats went to work. A Matthews' single and a Bulldogs' wild pitch put a man on second for Albertus with two outs and feared slugger Warren coming to the plate. Warren didn't disappoint, turning on a pitch and driving it for an RBI double to tie the game at 2-all.
With the score knotted at 2-2, the Bulldogs offense exploded for four runs in the bottom of the third. A walk and a single put two men on with no outs, when McFeggan induced a fly-out to centerfield. A hit batsman loaded the bases for Dean before a Bulldogs' double drove in a pair of runs and put men on second and third. A passed ball scored another run before McFeggan recorded the second out via a groundout. That would be all for McFeggan, as the senior hurler was yanked in favor of freshman Tyler Baldwin (Cromwell, Conn.).
The Bulldogs picked up right where they left off in the fourth, as Hadden drove a pitch over the wall for a home run, giving the Bulldogs a five-run advantage, 7-2. The Bulldogs put two more runners on in the inning, but the Falcons escaped without allowing another run.
Albertus responded in the top of the fifth, as Murphy doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch. A Matthews' walk put runners on the corners with no outs before a Clarke fielder's choice drove in the run. A Warren single put runners on first and second before the Bulldogs retired the next two hitters to end the inning, with Albertus down 7-3.
The Bulldogs added insurance runs in both the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings to take a six-run advantage, 9-3, into the seventh. Despite a Bulldogs' error in the last half-inning, the Falcons could not capitalize, and Dean completed the sweep.
TOP PERFORMERS
• WP: Tyler McAloon (1-0) | LP: Shawn McFeggan (0-1)
• Rodriguez hit his second career home run in the second.
• Rodriguez went 2-for-3 from the plate.
• Both Rodriguez and Warren tied for the team lead with two hits each.
• With his 27th career double tonight, Warren is now ninth on the all-time school list.
