Baseball Splits with Albertus in GNAC Finale

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (4/19/15) – The Lasell College baseball team split with Albertus Magnus College by score of 5-2 and 6-2 in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Quigley Stadium.  The Lasers stand at 13-14 overall and 9-5 in the conference, while the Falcons move to 10-17 on the year and 4-8 this spring.

Game One Lasell: 2 Albertus Magnus: 5

Junior Dan Gagnon (Pomfret Center, Conn.) paced the Lasers with a double and an RBI, while junior Skylar Beckerman (Pensacola, Fla.) drove in a single run.

Senior Tyler Robertson (Cheshire, Conn.) led the offense for the Falcons, roping a double and scoring two runs.  Junior Justin Poirier  (Meriden, Conn.) went 3-for-4 at the plate, joined by three other Falcons with a run driven in.

After senior Matt Sammarco (New Canaan, Conn.) worked in a walk in the top of the third, Beckerman singled to drive in the first run of the game. A Gagnon single to center plated freshman Dom Mascolo (Waterbury, Conn.) to up the Lasers' lead to 2.

The Falcons knotted the game at two in the bottom of the third, where Senior Anthony Pellegrino (Branford, Conn.) crossed home plate for the 3-2 go ahead. The Falcons never let up the lead going forward, scoring a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth via RBI's from Pellegrino and Poirier.

Junior thrower Gary Trottier (Rehoboth, Mass.) suffered his third loss of the season (1-3), allowing 11 hits, three earned runs, and three walks in 5.2 innings pithed. Junior Jordan Kubilus (Cheshire, Conn.) earned his first win of the year for Albertus with five hits and zero earned runs in the full game.

Game Two Lasell: 6 Albertus: 2

The Lasers fired back in game two, cranking out 12 hits compared to the Falcons' four. Senior Aj McKenzie (Pasadena, M.D.) highlighted the offensive stride for the Lasers with three hits and a run batted in. Junior Tyler Flaherty (Portland, Maine) and freshman Jesse Tejero (West Haven, Conn.) contributed with a double, while sophomore Brandon Valentin  (Meriden, Conn.) recorded two RBI's.

Sophomore Tyler Graziano (Trumbull, Conn.) junior Steven Lockman (Wallingford, Conn.), senior Ted Gravel (Morris, Conn.), and Pellegrino teamed up for the hitting numbers for the visitors, while Gravel and senior Nick Sedia (Bronx, N.Y.) had the lone RBI's.

After a scoreless two innings, junior Wes Hurty (Windsor, Conn.) singled and reached second on an Albertus defensive error to score Sammarco all the way from first base. The Lasers packed in two more runs in the top of the fourth, courtesy of RBI's from Valentin and Sammarco.

Following a 1-2-3 inning for Albertus in the fourth, the Lasers plated three runners to clinch the 6-0 lead. The Falcons attempted a late-game rally by bringing in two runs in the fifth and sixth innings – highlighted by a Gravel RBI triple – but the Lasers would come out on top, 6-2.

Senior pitcher Ryan Bowen (Hudson, Mass.) evened out his record to 2-2, pitching six innings with two strikeouts and two earned runs. Freshman Thomas Pietruczuk (Norwich, Conn.) earned his first collegiate save for the visitors, allowing just a single walk in the Falcons' last chance at bat. Pellegrino dropped to 1-3 on the year after pitching three innings with four hits, one run, and one walk.

The Lasers close out their regular season on Sunday, April 20 for a non-conference tilt with Umass Boston at 3:00 p.m.