After defeating Framingham State in the elimination game Saturday morning, Fitchburg State beat Westfield State 13-10 to force the if necessary game of the MASCAC Baseball Tournament.

Semifinal: #2 Fitchburg State 4, #3 Framingham State 3        Box Score

Westfield, Mass. – The second seeded Falcons of Fitchburg State defeated the third seeded Rams of Framingham State University, 4-3 this afternoon in semifinal round action of the 2019 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Baseball Post-Season Tournament at the Bud and Jim Hagan Field on the campus of Westfield State University.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 4, Framingham State 3

Records: Fitchburg State (25-15, 13-8 MASCAC) I Framingham State (22-19, 12-9 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Fitchburg State opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth as sophomore Nicholas Cordeau (Melrose, Mass.) singled to third, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on an RBI single from junior Joshua Macomber (Berkley, Mass.) for the 1-0 edge.

The Falcons upped their lead (3-0) in the following frame junior Brandon Lefebvre (Leominster, Mass.) brought in newcomer Vincent Eramo (Shirley, Mass.) with a sacrifice fly to left before Cordeau laced a run scoring double to right center that plated junior Matthew Pingitore (Rutland, Mass.).

Framingham State cut into the deficit in the top of the seventh with junior Bobby Higgins (Barnstable, Mass.) tripling to right field to bring in senior Joe Ambrosino (Bradenton, Fla.), while senior Matt Fogarty (Millis, Mass.) added an RBI double to right to make the score 3-2.

The Green and Gold tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth as Cordeau drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second and third on a steal and sacrifice bunt and came around to score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of senior Noah Milliard(Leominster, Mass.) for the 4-2 margin.

The Rams answered in the top of the ninth when Fogarty singled down the right field line to scored Ambrosino, but Fitchburg State closer Shaun Gamelin (West Kingstown, R.I.) picked up his conference leading seventh save on the season with a strikeout to end the game.

Championship: #2 Fitchburg State 13, #1 Westfield State 10         Box Score

Westfield, Mass. – The second seeded Falcons of Fitchburg State defeated the top seeded Owls of Westfield State University, 13-10 this afternoon in championship round of the 2019 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Baseball Post-Season Tournament at the Bud and Jim Hagan Field to force a winner take all if necessary game tomorrow at Westfield State.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 13, Westfield State 10

Records: Fitchburg State (26-15, 13-8 MASCAC) I Westfield State (26-14, 14-7 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Fitchburg State erupted for five runs in the top of the first as junior Joshua Macomber (Berkley, Mass,) brought home sophomore Nicholas Cordeau (Melrose, Mass.) with a sacrifice fly to center, while freshman Vincent Eramo (Shirley, Mass.) and junior Matthew Pingitore (Rutland, Mass.) followed with back-to-back two-run base hits for the 5-0 lead.

Westfield State responded in the bottom of the frame when senior Colin Dunn (Westfield, Mass.) singled down the right field line to plate classmate Anthony Crowley (Bellingham, Mass.) to make the score 5-1.

The Owls cut into the deficit (5-2) in the following stanza with junior Brett Dooley (Cohasset, Mass.) coming in on a wild pitch, but the Falcons broke the contest open in the top of the third as junior Brennan Cuddahy (Leominster, Mass.) delivered a bases clearing down the left field line, while Macomber, Cordeau and junior Brandon Lefebvre (Leominster, Mass.) added RBI's in the frame.

Westfield State answered back in the bottom half of the sixth as Dunn singled to left to bring home sophomore Nick Martin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) before junior Brett Dooley (Cohasset, Mass.) followed with a two-run base knock to cut the lead to 12-6.

The Green and Gold added an insurance run in the top of the eighth with Cordeau reaching on a fielder's choice that plated junior Timothy Horton (Northampton, Mass.) for the 13-6 advantage. The Owls chipped away at the lead in the bottom of the ninth as senior Aaron Clancy (Quincy, Mass.) ripped a two-run single to center and Dooley added a an RBI single to right, but Falcon reliever Andrew Dunn (Leominster, Mass.) induced an game-ending ground out to force the if necessary game for the championship tomorrow.

Releases courtesy of Fitchburg State Sports Information