Fitchburg State Rallies Past Anna Maria, 11-10

Alexander belts two homeruns in Falcons non-conference victory

PAXTON, Mass. (April 5, 2010) - Junior Dave Alexander (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) belted a pair of homeruns this afternoon as the Falcons overcame a 6-0 deficit in the third inning to defeat Anna Maria 11-10 in non-conference action.

DAVE ALEXANDER

Alexander paced the Falcons’ offensive attack, going 3-for-5 with a double to go with his two jacks, two runs scored, and three RBI, while classmate John Phelan (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) also had three hits in the game with three runs scored and two RBI. Juniors Brian Ware (Beverly, Mass./Beverly), Will Comerford (Ayer, Mass./Ayer), and sophomore Michael Mercier (Townsend, Mass./Saint Bernads) each chipped in with two hits apiece.

On the hill, sophomore Perry Russo (East Hartford, Conn./East Hartford) earned his second victory of the season for the Falcons (2-1), surrendering just one run and one hit in 3.2 innings of relief. Freshman Randy Ortiz, Jr. (Danielson, Conn./Killingly) picked up his first collegiate save, posting a scoreless ninth to seal the victory.

Anna Maria jumped out to an early 6-0 lead after scoring three times in both the first and second innings. Junior Jeff Scafidi (Worcester, Mass.) did most of the damage for the AmCats, contributing a two-run double in the first and a three-run homerun in the second.

Fitchburg State answered with five runs on five hits in the third to cut the Anna Maria lead to only one. Ware kick started the rally with a two-run single, before Phelan and Alexander opened the Falcon power surge. Phelan brought Fitchburg State within two with a two-run homerun, while Alexander followed with an RBI double to cut the AmCat lead to 6-5.

The AmCats countered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, taking advantage of two Falcon errors while receiving an RBI-double from freshman Mike Guarnieri (Wallington, Conn.) to build a 9-5 advantage. But Fitchburg State did not go away, scoring six runs over the next four innings to take their first lead of the game, 11-9. Alexander smacked solo homers in both the fifth and seventh innings to spark the Falcons, while junior Ricky Graham (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) and Mercier each drove in a run in the sixth.

Anna Maria got back to within a run after Jim McNamara (Worcester, Mass.) plated Mike Galvin (Rutland, Mass./Rutlan) with a ground ball to the right side in the eighth, but Ortiz was able to close the door in the ninth to preserve the 11-10 win for Fitchburg State.

Fitchburg State (6-7, 0-2 MASCAC) returns to action tomorrow as it hosts Fisher College at 3:30 p.m. Anna Maria (12-7, 6-4 TCCC) will visit Salve Regina tomorrow for a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.

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Fitchburg State 11, Anna Maria 10