Hurty, Gagnon Sends Baseball to GNAC Sweep Over Norwich

Waltham, Mass. (04/23/2016) The Lasell Baseball team took two close games against the Norwich Cadets on Saturday afternoon at Stein Diamond on the campus of Brandeis University. The Lasers improve to 15-13 and 6-4 in the GNAC while the Cadets fall to 3-26 and 1-9 in the GNAC.

Game One: Lasell 3 Norwich 1

Senior Dan Gagnon (Pomfret, Conn.) went 2-for-3 on the day highlighted by a solo home run on the very first at bat for the Lasers, while junior Brandon Valentin (Meriden, Conn.) contributed a double and a run to the low scoring affair. Freshman Dave Marsell (Baldwinsville, NY.) earned his first collegiate RBI of his career batting second for the Lasers.  

Sophomore Drew Caldwell (Hanover, Mass.) led the charge for the Cadets with two base hits, as junior Kyle Lameroy (Northfield, Vt.) drove in the only run on the day for Norwich.

Both teams got their bats going early after the solo shot by Gagnon before Cadets' third baseman Lameroy pulled through with an RBI single in the top of the second. Lasell quickly broke the tie after a throwing error and an RBI single by Marsell, 2-1. After the second inning, starting pitchers junior Casey Johnson (Windsor, Conn.) and fellow junior Kyle Farquharson (South Ryegate, Vt.) both settled into the game and shut down the hitting for the remainder of the game.

Johnson threw a complete game and allowed one run on seven hits while striking out five Cadets, as Farquharson allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits over six innings.

Game Two: Lasell 5 Norwich 4 (8 Innings)

Freshman Brett Sherron (Howard Beach, NY) launched two doubles and scored a run, while fellow first-year Evan Michalek (Berlin, Conn.) ripped two singles and scored the game-winning run. In extra innings, senior Wes Hurty (Windsor, Conn.) smashed the walk-off hit over the left fielder's head to end the game with the bases loaded.

Lameroy smacked three singles in game two and came around to score a run, as junior Brandon Pedley (Northfield, Vt.) earned an RBI double for the Cadets. Senior John Flanagan (West Groton, Mass.) also hit a run-scoring double in game two.

The Lasers once again got on the board in the first inning after Gagnon led the game off with a double and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Hurty, but the Cadets etched a run on the scoreboard after Flanagan doubled in a run. Senior Tyler Flaherty (Portland, Maine) broke the tie in the fourth on a single that scored Sherron on the play, but the Cadets reclaimed the lead in the sixth by sending two runners home in the inning.

After a Michalek RBI single in the sixth, the Cadets scored another run in the seventh to take the lead 4-3 going into the bottom of the seventh. After back-to-back hits, senior Skylar Beckerman (Pensacola, Fla.) singled in a run to send the game to extra innings as the scoreboard read 4-4.

In the bottom of the eighth, Hurty came to the plate with one out and the bases loaded and cracked the walk-off hit over the left fielder's head to end the game, 5-4.

Senior starting pitcher Jake Malone (Harwich, Mass.) allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits over six innings while striking out four batters, as counterpart freshman Jacob Ryan (Arlington, Mass.) gave up three runs (two earned) on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings pitched. Relief pitcher Hector Coscione (Newton, Mass) earned the win for the Lasers after retiring the only three batters he faced in the eighth.

The Lasers continue GNAC play tomorrow when they travel to Johnson & Wales (RI) on Sunday, April 24^th for a doubleheader at 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm.