Baseball: Lasers move to 9-3 in GNAC as offense leads the way in Rivier sweep

Nashua, N.H. – Sophomore Ross Audet (Swansea, Mass.) had seven hits on the day and knocked in six runs to lead the Lasell University Lasers baseball team to a sweep of Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) foe Rivier University, 9-3 and 16-3, Saturday afternoon at Holman Stadium.

Game 1: Lasell 9 Rivier 3

Lasers jumped out to an early lead with their first at bats as senior Matthew Bischof (Sleepy Hallow, N.Y.) drove in sophomore Bryan Baumann (Deerfield, Mass.) with a single through the right side.

The Raiders did not trail for long as they evened the score up in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI single by sophomore Jacob Boudreau (Auburn, N.H.) that brought in sophomore Frank Gulezian (Derry, N.H.).

Rivier grabbed the lead in the bottom of the second two runs came home to score on a Lasell error giving the Raiders a two-run lead.

Freshman Griffin Ferreira (Westport, Mass.) answered back in a big way for the Lasers as he tripled with the bases loaded bringing home freshman Tyler DiNezza (Cranston, R.I.), sophomore Matthew Paharik (West Boylston, Mass.), Audet to give the Lasers the lead back.

Audet added to the lead in the fourth inning as his double down the left field line brought home sophomore CJ Mills (Waltham, Mass.).

The Lasers added four more runs in the fifth inning starting off with a bases loaded walk by Mills that brought home DiNezza. The next batter was Baumann and he walked as well to bring home Ferreira and was quickly followed up by Audet bringing home Mills and freshman Devon Lapierre (Dover, N.H.) with a single up the middle to make it a 9-3 game and it would stay that way the rest of the way as the Lasers took game one.

Senior Jake Mainey (Merrimack, N.H.) was solid in relief for the Raiders throwing three innings while only giving up one hit and striking out two. Gulezian led the offense going three for four with two runs batted in. Boudreau also knocked in a run for the Raiders while collecting a hit.

Graduate student Chris O'Connor (Duxbury, Mass.) got the start and win for the Lasers throwing four innings while giving up five hits and three runs while striking out two. Sophomore Darek Lallo (Warwick, R.I.) threw three innings of relief only giving up one hit and striking out one. Audet led the offense with three hits and three RBIs and Ferreira also drove in three runs with his one hit on the day. Mills, Baumann, and Bischof also brought home a run apiece in the win for Lasell.

Game 2: Lasell 16 Rivier 3

Just like in game one the Lasers jumped out to an early lead in the first inning as Audet singled to the shortstop and brought home Mills. Paharik quickly added two more with a single to left center bringing home Baumann and Audet. Paharik came around to make it a four-run first inning as he scored on a Raider error off the bat of freshman Vaun Larisa (Lincoln, R.I.).

Lasell struck again in the second starting with four runs on one swing as Bischof blasted a grand slam to center field to bring home Audet, Mills and Lapierre. Larisa made it nine runs through the first two innings as he scored on an error by Rivier off the bat of freshman Pierce Clare (Middletown, R.I.).

Rivier clawed a run back in the bottom half of the second as sophomore Patrick Young (Billerica, Mass.) scored on a sacrifice fly from junior Patrick Quinn (Seabrook, N.H.).

Audet drove in his second run of the game and first run for the Lasers in the third inning while an RBI single to the opposite field. Bischof kept driving in runs as he knocked in his fifth of the contest with a single to center field and Larisa also drove in a run with a single to left center to give Lasell a 11-run advantage.

Rivier scored again in the bottom of the third as Boudreau advanced to third on a single by senior Conor Dines (Framingham, Mass.) and then came home to score on a Lasell error on the same play.

The Lasers scored again for the fourth straight inning as Audet doubled to right center to bring home Mills and get the lead back to 11.

Clare drove in his first of the day in the fifth with a single to right field that brought home Paharik and was followed up with a two-run single by Ferreira that brought home Larisa and Clare to give Lasell a 16-2 lead.

Rivier was able to get one more across in the bottom of the sixth as Boudreau hit a sacrifice fly in foul ground that brought home Quinn and made it 16-3 and would stay that way until the end of the game as Lasell took game two as well.

Freshman Tyler Fenton (Wilmington, Mass.) threw two innings of relief for the Raiders giving up one hit and striking out two and freshman Kevin Williams (Pelham, N.H.) threw an inning while only giving up a hit. Beaudreau and Quinn had the only two RBIs for the Raiders in the loss.

Freshman Alex Noel (Dover, N.H.) got the start and win on the mound for Lasell throwing five innings while giving up five hits, one earned run and striking out three. Sophomore Tim Coakley (Acton, Mass.) threw one inning without giving up a hit but allowed a run and junior Joey Rego (East Providence, R.I.) threw an inning while giving up one hit and striking out two. Audet led the way on offense going four for five at the plate and driving in three runs. Bischof drove in five while collecting two hits including a grand slam. Paharik and Ferreira both drove in two runs with one hit each. Lapierre had three hits, Larisa had two hits along with an RBI and Clare drove in a run in the win.

The Lasers will be back in action on Monday, April 18, when they play host to Lesley University in a non-conference matchup. First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m.