Leopards Come from Behind to Defeat Lasers

Newton, Mass.-  Opening day for the Lasell College Baseball team was a rainy and cold event at Brandeis College, which ended after eight innings with Wentworth Institute of Technology defeating the Lasers 20-7.  Though the Lasers came out ahead in the bottom of the second, the Leopards fought back to go ahead 6-3 in the fourth, and ran away with the game in the sixth.  WIT is now 12-4 this year, while the Lasers fall to 3-8.

Freshman rightfielder Mike Mahoney (Rockland, Mass.) went 3-5 for the Lasers with one run scored and an RBI while second baseman Josh Sullivan (Rockland, Mass.) also had a multi-hit game, with a single and a double.

Senior Nick Guzman (Worcester, Mass.) started on the mound for Lasell, holding the visitors at bay in the top two innings allowing the Lasers to begin the scoring in the bottom of the second.  Mike Mahoney singled, then advanced on a Leopard error, followed by a Mike Grenier (Fitchburg, Mass.) single thru the middle, advancing Mahoney to third.  Mahoney came around home on a base hit by Steve Vanderwerken (Rockport, Mass.) who earned the RBI. Knocking in two more runs for the home team was Matt Mahoney (Rockland, Mass) who singled to center field. The inning ended with Lasell up 3-0, on four hits, leaving one on base.

Costly errors in the third gave Wentworth a chance to tie the game with three runs of their own. After singling to get on base and advancing two on Ben Danker (Branford, Conn.) ground out, Conner Flisnik (Marcy, NY) scored the Leopards first run on a balk. Mike Roberts (Chelmsford, Mass.) reached on a Laser error, bringing Danker home.  Roberts finished the Leopard scoring when Phil Costello (Medford, Mass.) shot one into left field, ending the top of the third, 3-all.

The Lasers left three on base in the bottom of the inning, then gave up three more runs in the fourth as the Leopards took control. 

Sullivan doubled to center field in the fourth to send Patrick Girard (Stonington, Conn.) home.  Sullivan was in scoring position after advancing on the throw, but the Lasers grounded out to close frame.

Guzman pitched through the fifth for the Lasers, striking out three and holding the visiting Leopards within reach (6-4) before retiring in the 6th.  Wentworth took advantage and score 14 runs through the remaining three innings before the game was called after a near four hour game.

Lasell's Jim Amon (Warren, NJ) and Grenier each scored unearned in the seventh, and Sullivan reached in the eighth with Mike Mahoney batting him in.

The Lasers will travel to Eastern Nazarene on Friday, March 27th at 3:30 p.m. for another non-conference game.