Falcons Drop Double Header To Cardinals

Auburndale, Fla. - The Fitchburg State University baseball team dropped a pair of games to the Cardinals of Concordia University by the scores of 5-0 and 8-7 this afternoon at the Lake Myrtle Complex in Florida.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 0, Concordia University 5 (Game One)

Score: Fitchburg State 7, Concordia 8 (Game Two)

Records: Fitchburg State (3-6) I Concordia (15-3)

How It Happened

Game One

Concordia took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Vann Acker (Eaton Rapids, Mich.) brought home Victor Diaz (Guarenas, Venezuela) with a sacrifice fly to centerfield before the Cardinals upped their margin (3-0) in the top half of the fifth as Calvin Syrjala (Greenville, Mich.) scored on a passed ball, while Matthew Botti (Decatur, Mich.) later crossed the plate on a double steal.

Concordia secured the victory in the top of the sixth when Grant Steinborn (Flushing, Mich.) doubled to bring in Acker before Syrjala knocked in Jacob Henry (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) with a fly out to right field, resulting in the 5-0, game final.

Game Two

Fitchburg State grabbed a 2-0 margin in the bottom of the second as junior Nicholas Cordeau (Melrose, Mass.) singled to bring home sophomore Brendan Ferrell (Plymouth, Mass.) and classmate Zachary Morris (Salem, N.H.). Concordia took the lead in the top half of the third, scoring five runs to make the score 5-2.

Trailing 8-2 going into the bottom of the fourth, the Falcons chipped the lead to 8-7 with Cordeau, senior Joshua Macomber (Berkley, Mass.), senior Zachary Gull (Rutland, Mass.), sophomore Vincent Eramo (Shirley, Mass.) and senior Alexander Bissanti (Franklin, Mass.) driving in runs.

The Green and Gold nearly knotted the contest in the bottom of the seventh when senior Matthew Pingitore (Rutland, Mass.) drew a lead-off walk, moved to second and third on a passed ball and ground out, but Cardinals closer Alex Phillips (Tucson, Ariz.) worked out of the jam, retiring the final two hitters, resulting in the 8-7, game two final.

By The Numbers

• First two meetings between the two teams with the Falcons 0-2-0 vs the Cardinals
• Senior Brandon Lefebvre (Leominster, Mass.) led the way for the Falcons, going 1-for-3 with a double
• Freshman Christopher Masta () and senior Nicholas Cordeau (Melrose, Mass.) added one hit each for the Green and Gold
• Senior Evan Meleedy () took the loss for Fitchburg State, yielding three runs (1 earned) on one hit with five K's in 4.2 innings of work
• Cordeau paced the Falcons in game two, going 3-for-4 with a double, three RBI and one run scored
• Senior Jack Gallant (Hammond Plains, N.S.) suffered the set back for Fitchburg State, allowing five runs on five hits with two strikeouts over three innings of work

Up Next

Falcons return to action tomorrow as they conclude their annual spring trip to Florida at the RussMatt Invitational.