Worcester, MA- Going into today's game the Lancers' record sat at 11-15. This out-of-conference game would have no impact on their seeding in the MASCAC, but a good performance, after a hard loss against Fitchburg yesterday, could only put the team back on a winning path.
Starting as pitcher today would be junior Nick Bousquet (Athol, MA). The lefty would be going up against one of the better batting teams in Massachusetts as Anna Maria comes in with an above .500 record with many one-run games showing this team can win them close.
Junior Colin Fitzgerald (Auburn, MA) would be the starting catcher in this mid-week game instead of senior Alex Sorenti-Burns (Sagamore, Beach, MA) who would be found tending first base against the AMCATs. The first batter in the order would see themselves walked with a sac-bunt sending the Anna Maria runner to second. Bousquet would only have two strikes in his first 10 pitches and runners would be left sitting at 1st and 2nd with one out. An infield error would advance the runners to 3rd and 2nd as a fielder's choice grabbed the second out at first base but Bousquet would not get away unscathed as a 2-run single RBI would see the Lancers in a 2-run deficit at the end of the inning.
The Lancers would see their first base appearance after Sorenti-Burns would get an in-field single after some hard base running but no one was able to bring him home as the score remained 2-0 into the second. The top of the 2nd would see a first-pitch swing and crush in the center and right field gap followed by a ground ball to third, that would see an out at first but the runner would advance to third. A successful bunt would bring the runner home but the inning would ultimately end with only one scored. Bob Ross, their 5th-year starter, would see three quick outs in the bottom of the 2nd. A down-center single would open up the third inning at bat for Anna Maria and bunting would be the theme for this Anna Maria team with runners advancing to second and third but an out would be added to the board. With 1 out an infield ground ball would bring in a runner but the Lancers would be down by 4 now which would carry over into the fourth and through the fifth. A slow start that would worry most teams but the Lancers got a defensive three and out on their own in the next inning with a quick ground out followed by a theatrical out by Sorenti Burns. The Senior would meet the ball before it left the infield and dive for the first base bag. A pop fly would see the inning end.
The bottom of the 5th would see the Lancers have a runner at 2nd. An aggressive senior Chris Ausiello (Tynsgboro, MA) would be caught in a pickle and the out count would go to two. A jam shot that just narrowly avoided the Anna Maria center field would see runners advance to 3rd and 1st. A first year Aaron Siegal (Abington, MA) would be brought home after a first year Nathan Thurber (Framingham, MA) line drive. Fitzgerald would advance to third. The catcher could have potentially scored a run after some small confusion after Thurber would successfully steal second, but a following pop fly would see the inning come to a close with the Lancers chipping away the lead.
After an infield roller would result in a single Lancers pitcher Bousquet would get in a 9 pitch battle that would ultimately see runners advance to 3rd and 1st. A sac fly would end the scoreless stretch for Anna Maria and bring in first year Colin Ensminger (Reading, MA) to replace Bousquet. With the scoreline reading 5-1 the Lancers would hope to cut the lead with a strong bottom of the 6th.
Going into the 7th inning the Lancers would see an early pop up.and in field ground out bring two outs to the board against Anna Maria. A first pitch swing and crush would follow these two positive plays for the Lancers and would be Ensminger's first given up run of the day. A four quick strike out would follow the Anna Maria solo HR.
Anna Maria would bring in their fourth pitcher of the day. An Ausiello plate appearance would end in a strikeout. Two ground outs would follow this and a fourth three and out would be seen by this Lancers offense. An early out followed by a hit of the knob of the Anna Maria player would see 2 outs on the board. Thurber would see an infield pop fly meet his glove to see the inning end. Fitzgerald would have a double which energized the Lancers bench as most of the GUARDS were on their feet. He would advance to third after a catcher error. Thurber would be walked followed by Zac Roberts. Sophomore Tyler Smith (Leominster, MA) would bring in two runs with the bases loaded. This would make the score 6-3. A fifth pitcher would enter the game. His first pitch would be a wild one and a speedy senior Zack Roberts (Northbridge, MA) would make his way home while Smith would also advance to second. Sorenti-Burns would be walked and with runners at 1st and 2nd sophomore Anthony Iamarone (Providence, RI) would look to bring them home. A double steal would occur on the first pitch and the Lancers began to feel the momentum shift. With bases loaded, the Senior captain would look to bring in some runs off his contact hit and would hoop 4 feet over his head, bringing two runs home. Smart base running by Ausiello would see the Lancers take a 7-6 lead. Fitzgerald, who started this rally, hit a ball straight to the shortstop resulting in a 643 double play.
As the top of the ninth began, the Lancers would get their first out of the final inning but Anna Maria would see Powers advance to third. With Anna Maria needing one run a 1-1 count would occur after the first two pitches. With the pitch count at 1-2 a pop up into the left field would occur. It would fall just before Roberts could catch it, sending home the tying run at bringing the game to 7-7.
Thurber would lead off the bottom of the 9th inning, recording a single for his 2nd hit of the day. Roberts would be next and after his inability to finish the game on the defensive end his hopes would be on the offensive side of things. He would bunt and move Thurber to second. He would initially be called out but after an umpire review he would be determined to be safe at first base. Smith would get on base for the third time of the match with a walk. His one base percentage is one of the highest in MASCAC not only due to his solid hitting but great plate discipline. The script was written for Senior and former Anna Maria team member Sorenti-Burns to end the game with a win. He would do just that, hitting on a 2-2 count a ball just over the center fielders head. Thurber would score the winning run and that would be all she wrote on the game.
The Lancers (12-15, 6-4) are back in action on Friday at home as they play host to Framingham State with the first pitch scheduled for 3:30pm.