NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. – The Lasell College baseball team picked up not only their first win of the season, but also their second as they downed Worcester State by scores of 9-8 and 7-1 in a doubleheader played at the New England Baseball Complex (NEBC) Wednesday afternoon.
GAME ONE: LASELL 9, WORCESTER STATE 8
After falling behind by five in the first two inning of play, the Lasell Lasers completed a comeback and edged the Lancers 9-8 following a stunning 7th inning performance, including a 3-run home run from Skylar Beckerman (Pensacola, Fla.) and additional RBI's from Jesse Tejero (W. Haven, Conn.) and Evan Michalek (Berlin, Conn.).
Beckerman led the Lasers in the first contest of the day, as he went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, a double and a home run. Andre Marchessault (Cheshire, Conn.) also picked up three RBI and registered a .500 on base percentage. Tejero went 1-for-1 with an RBI, while Joe Sullivan (E. Sandwich, Mass.) batted at the .500 mark.
On the mound for the Lasers in the win was Casey Johnson (Windsor, Conn.) who only gave up one run in a 4-inning performance. Patrick Colvin (Lenoxdale, Mass.) was the closer in the 7th inning thriller, and received his first save in one inning pitched, while also striking out one batter.
Worcester State started the scoring the bottom of 2nd with two outs the when Jake Ryan (Northbridge, Mass.) reached home on an RBI single from Mike Ferrara (Easton, Mass.). Lasell came back and knotted the score at 1-1 in the top of the 2nd on two hits.
Worcester State took a heavy advantage in the bottom of the 2nd inning when they scored five runs on five hits and two Lasell errors. The Lancers kept their five point advantage until Lasell scored two runs in the top of the 5th on a 2-RBI single from Marchessault to cut the lead to just three. Worcester State added another run in the bottom of the 6th on a sacrifice fly from Ryan to put the lead back at four.
However, Lasell made a comeback and forced the game to go into the bottom half of the 7th inning as they scored six runs on five hits and one error in the top of the 7th. A 3-RBI home run from Beckerman anticipated the comeback, and then Tejero and Michalek recorded a double and a single later in the inning to add three more runs and take the 9-7 lead.
Worcester State had one more chance in the bottom of the 7th, but were only able to score one run on an RBI double from Mike Powers (Weymouth, Mass.).
Leading the Lancers offensively in game one was both Seth Leslie (Phillipston, Mass.) and Dan McGuill (E. Longmeadow, Mass.) who both went 2-for-2 with one walk. Ferrara, Kevin Larkin (Bristol, Conn.), and Kenan Kolanda (Sterling, Mass.) also picked up two hits in loss.
GAME TWO: LASELL 7, WORCESTER STATE 1
After edging the Lancers in game one, the Lasers kept their momentum going into the second game as they downed Worcester State by a score of 7-1 on six hits and one Worcester State error, and held the Lancers to just four hits throughout the game.
The Lasers tallied three runs in the 2nd inning on a 2-run home run from Dom Mascolo (Waterbury, Conn.) and an RBI walk from David Marsell (Baldwinsville, N.Y.). They then scored two additional runs in the 3rd inning on a 2-run home run from Brett Sherron (Howard Beach, N.Y.) to mark a 5-0 gain on the Lancers.
Worcester State was able to sneak one run in during the top of the 5th when Chadd Richardson (Bristol, Conn.) hit an RBI single, but could not keep up with Lasell's scoring as they notched one more apiece in the bottom of the 5th and 6th innings to notch a 7-1 win over the Lancers.
Lasell's Marchessault led the Lasers in the second game, going 2-for-3 in the batter's box. A trio of Lasers recorded home runs (Hector Coscione, Mascolo, and Sherron). The Lancers were held to just four hits throughout the game, including a double from Larkin, and an RBI single from Richardson.
Lasell's Daniel Petr (E. Haven, Conn.) registered the win on the mound in a 6-inning performance and striking out three. Worcester State's Matt Irzyk (Westfield, Mass.) suffered the loss as he allowed five runs on five hits in four innings pitched.
Next up, Lasell (2-1) will travel to Fort Myers, Fla. for their spring games and take on Old Westbury on Tuesday (Mar. 14). Worcester State (1-3) will take the weekend to rest and will resume play next Wednesday (Mar. 15) when they play Rivier in a single game at NEBC.