Baseball: Lasers grab first two GNAC wins with sweep of Albertus

Watertown, Mass. – Sophomore Bryan Baumann drove in five runs as the Lasell University Lasers baseball team took both games of a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) double header with Albertus Magnus College, 8-3 and 12-11, Sunday afternoon at Victory Field.

Game 1 – Lasell 8 Albertus Magnus 3

The game was a pitcher's duel for the first two and a half innings before the Lasers broke through in the bottom half of the third. Senior Matthew Bischof brough home the first run of the game when he singled home sophomore CJ Mills. The next batter was freshman Tyler DiNezza and he slapped a double in the left field gap to bring home sophomore Ross Audet. Freshman Griffin Ferreira kept the scoring going as he blasted a two RBI ground-rule double over the right fielder's head. Baumann brought home the final run in the inning for the Lasers as he singled past the shortstop to bring home Ferreira to cap off a five-run outburst for Lasell.

Albertus answered back in the next at bats as junior Ron Losacano (Old Lyme, Conn.) singled home two with the bases loaded to bring the Falcons to within three.

The Lasers stayed hot at the plate as DiNezza brought home Mills on a bases loaded walk to add one back to their advantage.

Lasell added another run in the fifth inning as Mills singled down the left field line to bring home Baumann.

Lasers scored once more in the sixth inning on a double by freshman Vaun Larisa to bring home DiNezza giving the Lasers an 8-2 lead going into the final frame.

The Falcons were able to scratch one across in the seventh on a double by junior Jason Sullivan (Meriden, Conn.) that brought home senior Joe Matthews (Anaheim, Calif.) but it was not enough as the Lasers took game one 8-3.

Sophomore Tyler Baldwin (Cromwell, Conn.) took the loss on the mound for the Falcons. Sullivan had two hits and an RBI and Losacano had the other Falcon hit and two RBIs.

Freshman Matthew Fletcher got his first collegiate win going five innings, allowing two runs while striking out eight. Audet, Larisa and Baumann all had two hits for the Lasers while Larisa and Baumann drove in a run each. Mills and DiNezza scored two runs with Mills driving in one and DiNezza driving in a pair. Ferreira also drove in two runs in the Lasell victory.

Game 2 Lasell 12 Albertus Magnus 11

The Falcons got the scoring started in game two with a pair of ground-rule doubles to right field first off, the bat of senior Nhasean Murphy (Manchester, Conn.) and the RBI ground-rule double by Matthews. The Falcons brought home another when sophomore Bobby Arent (Ridgefield, Conn.) was caught stealing which allowed Matthews to come home and score giving the Falcons their first lead of the day.

The Lasers answered in a big way in the bottom half of the third inning first on a single just over the first baseman by Larisa to bring home Audet. With the bases loaded and two outs Baumann delivered with a bases clearing triple to give the Lasers a 4-2 lead after three.

Albertus responded in the top half of the fifth inning, as Sullivan drove a single to center field with bases loaded to bring home Murphy and Matthews, knotting the game up at four. With runners on second and third with two outs, junior Sean Jefferson (West Haven, Conn.) gave the Falcons the lead as he hit a home run to right center field giving the Falcons a 7-4 lead after four and a half.

Lasers answered in the bottom half of the inning once more, getting a run when freshman Pierce Clare drew a walk with the bases loaded to bring in a run. The next batter up was freshman Jordan Martinez and he brought home a second run after being hit by a pitch. Lasell grabbed the lead back with a two out single to right field by Audet bringing home Clare and Baumann as they took an 8-7 lead into the sixth inning.

The Falcons took the lead back in the top of the sixth first tying the game on a single by graduate student Matthew Warren (Wolcott, Conn.) and brought in the go head run on a single by Sullivan to take an 9-8 lead into the bottom half of the sixth.

The seesaw affair continued as the Lasers took the lead right back in the bottom half of the inning. Lasell tied the game up on a bases loaded walk by Baumann and took the lead as the next batter Clare walked as well. The Lasers opened the game up as freshman Devon Lapierre hit a ground-rule double down the right field line with the bases loaded to give the Lasell a three-run cushion going into the final inning.

The Falcons stayed hot at the plate getting a base hit from Matthews with two runners on to cut the Lasell lead to two. Warren then drove in another when he singled into centerfield with the bases load. With the bases were loaded still with two outs and Lasell up one, Larisa got Sullivan to pop up to third base as the Lasers took both games and took game two 12-11.

Graduate Student Matthew Silverstein (Shleton, Conn.) got the start for the Falcons going four innings allowing two hits while allowing four runs and striking out five. Jefferson led the way at the plate going three for four while bringing home three runs. Sullivan also drove home three runs and collected two hits. Matthews and Warren both had two hits and two RBIs while Matthews came across to score three times. Murphy scored three times as well and collected two hits in the loss.

Mills got the start for Lasell going four and a third innings while striking out three. Larisa got the win on the mound in relief, throwing an inning and two thirds while striking out two. Baumann led the way at the plate in game two going two for two and driving in four runs. Audet, Clare and Lapierre all brought in two runs apiece in the win.

The Lasers will be back in action on Tuesday, March 29, when they play host to Elms College for their first GNAC matchup. The first game is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m.