Baseball Blanks Anna Maria in Home Opening Twinbill

WALTHAM, Mass. (4/9/17) -- In its 2017 home debut Sunday at Stein Diamond, the Lasell College baseball team swept the AMCATS of Anna Maria College in a doubleheader to earn its first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victories of the season.

The Lasers improve to 6-9 on the season and 2-2 in GNAC play with the 7-0 and 4-0 shutout victories, while the AMCATS are 7-21 and remain winless in conference games at 0-6.

Senior starters Casey Johnson (Windsor, Conn.) and Hector Coscione (Newton, Mass.) threw a combined 13 of 14 innings on the day, earning the winning decisions in Lasell's second and third shutouts of the season.

Game 1: Lasell 7, Anna Maria 0

Lasell scored single runs in the first, third and fourth innings before finishing the ballgame with a four-run, six-hit sixth to more than double its lead. The Lasers' 12 hits were tied for their second-highest total of the season, and the game marked their fifth time this season reaching double digits in hits.

Graduate right fielder Skylar Beckerman (Pensacola, Fla.) went 3-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in the opening victory, while senior first baseman Matt Haskell (Wallingford, Conn.) and sophomore catcher Robert Cutone (Tewksbury, Mass.) each went 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI.

On the mound, Johnson faced just three batters over the minimum 21 in his first complete game of the season and the third of his career, allowing five hits and a walk while striking out three. He faced just three batters in five innings en route to his staff-leading third victory.

The Lasers took a 1-0 lead just two batters into the first as Coscione ― who started at shortstop before getting the starting nod on the mound in the nightcap ― doubled to left field, advanced to third base on a wild pitch and scored on Haskell's sacrifice fly to center.

Lasell scored another run on two hits in the third as sophomore third baseman Andre Marchesseault (Cheshire, Conn.) beat out a one-out infield single, scoring Coscione for the second straight time in the game. With one out in the following frame, Cutone brought home sophomore second baseman Dave Marsell (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) with a single to left field.

Lasell sent eight of its nine batters to the plate in the sixth as each of the inning's first four batters reached base via singles. Cutone and sophomore center fielder Evan Michalek (Berlin, Conn.) drove in the first two runs with back-to-back knocks, while Haskell and Beckerman laced a two-out double and single, respectively.

Sophomore Matt Elliot (Attleboro, Mass.) was charged with his fourth loss of the season for the AMCATS, allowing 12 hits and six earned runs over six innings.

Game 2: Lasell 4, Anna Maria 0

Coscione completed the two-game shutout for the Lasers as he allowed just four hits and four walks en route to earning his second victory of the season, while going 1-for-3 with an RBI at the plate to help his own cause. His seven strikeouts were a season-high.

Senior left fielder Brandon Valentin (Meriden, Conn.) was the lone Laser with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a run scored. Marsell finished the nightcap with a two-run single as part Lasell's three-run fourth inning.

AMC senior Matthew Leahey (Rutland, Mass.) had allowed only a single baserunner until the Lasers broke the game open in the fourth, scoring their three runs on four hits and two errors.

All the fourth-inning scoring came with two outs as Valentin hit a double to left field that moved Marchesseault to third base after he reached first on a third-strike passed ball. Then, Marsell knocked a two-run single through the right side, advanced to second, stole third and scored as sophomore first baseman Brett Sherron (Howard Beach, N.Y.) singled to reach safely for the third time in four games.

Coscione rounded out the scoring in the following frame as his double to deep center scored Cutone, who singled to left and advanced to second on a Michalek sacrifice bunt.

Freshman Zach Handzel (Palmer, Mass.) relieved Coscione in the seventh, working around a pair of walks to clinch the victory. Leahey was charged with the loss for AMC, despite striking out six over his six innings of work. Because of four AMC errors, only one of the four runs he allowed was earned.

The Lasers return to action on Tuesday, April 11 with a 4:00 p.m. road contest against Nichols College, while the AMCATS visit Becker on Wednesday, April 12 at 4:00 p.m.