#3 Worcester State 7, #2 Framingham State 4
Framingham, MA --- Junior outfielder Corey McDonald (Hudson, MA) belted a three run home run in the top of the seventh inning to propel the third seeded Worcester State College Lancers to a 7-4 upset win over the #2 Framingham State Rams tonight at Bowditch Field in an opening round game of the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Baseball Championship Tournament.
With the win, the Lancers (29-9-1) advance to the semifinals on Saturday and face top seed Westfield State at 1 PM, while the Rams (23-16) will face fourth seed Bridgewater State in an elimination game beginning at 10 AM. The remainder of the MASCAC Baseball Tournament will be played at Westfield State.
The Rams jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Second baseman Danny Tomasz (Newburyport, MA) led off the bottom of the first with a double down the right field line and came around to score on an RBI single through the right side by outfielder Will Crofton (Hopkinton, MA). Junior Corey Ketterer (Plymouth, MA) walked and catcher Sean Callahan (Watertown, MA) was hit by a pitch to load the bases for outfielder Steven Tramontozzi (Watertown, MA). Tramonotozzi delivered with a single through the left side that scored Crofton and Ketterer.
Worcester State answered with two runs in the top of the second as first baseman Nick Fluegge (Ware, MA) led off with a single and advanced to second on a two out walk by Tyler McElman (Marlboro, MA). Junior Corey Abbascia (Shrewsbury, MA) followed with a double to center that plated Fluegge and McElman for his 100th career base knock.
The Rams got one back in the bottom of the second to take a 4-2 lead as junior Joe Sheehan (Watertown, MA) doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Tomasz.
Worcester State starting pitcher Joey Lucier (Brockton, MA) settled in after the second and held the Rams to just two hits over the next six innings and kept them off the scoreboard. Lucier, who improves his season record to 7-2, struck out 13 in the game and walked only three.
With 13 punchouts, Lucier's strikeout performance puts him in a three-way tie for the third-best performance in program history. The other two pitchers to do it did it in the postseason as Jeff Decoteau did in 2000 in the ECAC's against MCLA and Chad Cosby equaled the mark in 2003 in the MASCAC Semifinals against Framingham State.
Senior Kevin Hayes (Medford, MA) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his fifth save of the season and set the career record for stops in a career with eight. Hayes eclipsed the program standard that was set by Pat Good last season.
Worcester State scored a single run off of Framingham State starting pitcher Charlie Spear (Exeter, NH) in the top of the fourth on a solo homerun to center by McElman to pull within one run at 4-3.
In the top of the seventh, Ryan LaPrade (Leominster, MA) led off the inning with a single to left and T.J. Magnell (Leominster, MA) followed with a walk giving the Lancers first and second with no outs. After a pop out, McDonald followed with a three run shot to center that put the Lancers ahead for the first time in the game and drove Spear from the game. The Lancers would add one more in the inning on a bases loaded walk off junior Matthew Magazine (Marlborough, MA.) to take a 7-4 lead.
Magazine pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth in relief giving the Rams offense a chance, but the Rams had no answer for the combination of Lucier and Hayes picking up only one hit in the final two innings.
Spear was tagged with the loss for the Rams going 6.1 innings and allowing six runs, all earned, on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
Paul Rodriguez (San Antonio, TX) and Johno Hinkell (North Adams, MA) each tallied two hits for Worcester State as McElman crossed the plate twice. Sheehan was FSC's only multi-hitter as he went 2-for-4 with a double.
Lucier, who is chasing Cosby for all-time marks in innings (223.2) and strikeouts (218) is only 13.1 frames and 27 strikeouts away from tying the records. Lucier is 11-3 in his career against MASCAC opponents during the regular season and in tournament play.
Major Portions of Release Courtesy of Framingham State Sports Information