Worcester, MA --- Freshman Jared Kuzio (Franklin, MA) hurled six scoreless innings and classmate Cody Osburn (Fair Oaks, CA) went 3-for-3 as they both helped lead Worcester State to a 9-0 triumph over Newbury in non-conference baseball action this evening at the Kevin Lyons Baseball Diamond.
The Lancers (13-23) broke a scoreless game with a four-run second inning. Sophomore Dan Ubele (Tynsboro, MA) drove home a pair on a double with the bases juiced before junior Nick Bonofiglio (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) added an RBI ground-out and freshman Michael Ivas (Princeton, MA) followed with safety squeeze to plate Ubele.
Worcester State tacked on two more runs when Bonofiglio had a run producing single in the fourth and sophomore Joseph Carlier (Rockland, MA) crossed home plate on a double play in the fifth, with runners on the corners.
The Blue and Gold put the game away with a trio of runs in the eighth highlighted by RBI's Osburn, junior Kurt Sabacinski (Worcester, MA/St. Peter-Marian) and freshman Jeff Bolio (Oxford, MA).
Kuzio (2-1) was outstanding hitting his spots as he neutralized a line-up that came into the contest hitting .314 collectively. The rookie yielded just three-hits as he walked two and fanned one.
Junior teammates Joe Piscitelli (Oxford, MA) and Alex Teal (Malden, MA) along with Bonofiglio tossed one inning each while not allowing another Nighthawk base-knock for the rest of the contest. Only Teal struck out one and issued the only free pass out of the bullpen. Bonofiglio also notched a pair of punch-outs.
Newbury (21-16) freshman Daniel Lumb (Stoneham, MA) was tagged with the setback. Lumb (0-2) went three-plus innings allowing five earned runs on five hits to go with two walks and a pair of strikeouts.
The Nighthawks lone chance to score came in the top of the fifth.
Sophomore Christopher Murphy (Griswold, CT) singled to right center with one out and then junior Kyle Schiavone (Wethersfield, CT) was plunked. Third-year Matthew Clawson (Tolland, CT) singled through the right side to load the bases, but after a mound visit by the pitching coach, Kuzio induced a line-out to the shortstop that doubled off Clawson to end the threat.
Worcester State pitching did not allow an extra-base hit in their first team shutout of the season.
Bolio and Ubele both had two hits each while Carlier and Ubele finished with two runs apiece. Bolio and Osburn extended their hitting-streak to six consecutive contests each.
Both squads will play non-league opponents on Thursday. Worcester State entertains Fisher on "Senior Day" at 4 PM while Newbury travels to Buzzards Bay for a 3:30 matchup against Mass Maritime.