Worcester, MA --- Worcester State lost to Salem State in MASCAC baseball action afternoon, 4-2 and 5-4, at New Balance Field. Sophomore Andrew Guido (Peabody, MA) led the charge for the Vikings as he nailed down the save in the opener and then earned the victory in relief in game two.
Both teams now sport identical 11-9 records. SSU is now unbeaten at 4-0 in the conference while the Lancers are 1-3.
Salem State got to senior starter Chad Kasik (Dudley, MA) in the top of the second by scoring all four of their runs in the frame.
Freshman Matt Burgess (Kingston, MA) highlighted the inning with a two-run double and then senior Evan Valcourt (Salisbury, MA) drove in Burgess with a two-base knock of his own. Valcourt would come into score on an errant throw by the catcher, after he swiped third.
SSU senior Jeff Borges (Westport, MA) would toss six 1/3 strong innings with five strikeouts and three walks as he would frustrate the Lancers by leaving five men on base – all in scoring position – and induce a pair of double plays. Borges (2-2) would throw 116 pitches before he departed the game after walking the lead-off man and plunking the next in the bottom of the seventh.
Guido would allow a single, strikeout a man and yield a two-run double to senior Nick Fluegge (Ware, MA) with two outs before he induced a fly-out - with runners on the corners - to end the game. Guido nailed down his second save of the season in the win.
Kasik (3-2) nearly went the distance as he allowed four runs on seven hits. He would fan seven and walk two in the defeat. After leaving the bases loaded in the third, Kasik set down 11 of his last 14 batters.
Senior Bobby DeVito (Webster, MA) retired the last out in the top of the seventh for his team-leading third pick-off, after Kasik let senior Ryan Kane (Nahant, MA) reach on a double.
There were no multi-hitters for the Vikings in the first game while Fluegge was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and classmate Corey McDonald (Hudson, MA) tallied two hits.
Salem State also had six stolen bases as a team with two from Valcourt and another pair from sophomore Kevin Salines (Melrose, MA).
Worcester State struck early for the 3-0 lead after three complete frames. Junior Tyler McElman (Marlboro, MA) had an RBI double in the second inning; sophomore Chris Creen (Worcester, MA/St. John's) added a sacrifice fly in the third inning and then Fluegge came home on a misplayed ball in the infield for the third run.
Salem State would respond and put up a crooked number in the top of the fourth as the visitors knotted the game on a plated run by Burgess and an two-run single by Valcourt.
SSU notched the go-ahead run in the fifth on an RBI single by junior Chris Cocci (Wakefield, RI).
Worcester State would respond and equalize the score 4-4 on a two-out, run producing double by McDonald.
But the Vikings would take advantage of a miscue in the infield that extended the inning by getting to sophomore closer Shaun Slattery (Gardner, MA) in the top of the seventh. Cocci would have the clutch hit with an RBI single through the right side to make the Lancers pay, with two men down.
Guido, who retired the last man by way of strikeout with runners on the corners in the bottom of the sixth, tossed a scoreless seventh to improve his record to 3-0.
Slattery's record drops to 1-1 with the setback as the run he allowed was an unearned run.
Cocci led the way for Salem State in the second game as he finished 3-for-4 with a pair of runs driven in. McDonald was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate as he raised his MASCAC leading batting average up to .485 on the day.
The Lancers now have 52 doubles in 20 games for an eye popping average of 2.6 per game.
Both squads will play again on Tuesday at 3:30 in non-conference affairs. Worcester State will travel to Brandies while the Vikings entertain Suffolk.