Lynn, MA- The Falcons baseball team has now won nine in a row as they pick up two wins this afternoon, defeating both the Pine Manor College Gators and the University of Maine-Presque Isle Owls at Fraser Field.
Game 1- Fisher 10, Pine Manor 0
The Fisher bats erupted early and often in the first two innings of the matchup with the Gators as they scored six runs over the first two frames to take a 6-0 lead. Senior Ivan Rivera (Brooklyn, NY) got things started in the bottom of the first with a single. After a wild pitch moving him up to second, he stole third putting him in position for John Batista (Lawrence, MA) to knock him home taking a 1-0 lead. The Falcons tacked on five more in the bottom of the second, taking advantage of two walks by PMC's starter Saul Oquendo to start the inning. Freshman Jorge Sanchez (Caguas, PR) knocked in Joshua Rogers (Highlands Ranch, CO) to make it 2-0, and putting runners at second and third with one out. Rivera collected his first RBI of the day as he hit a sharp grounder to third allowing Ismael Perez (Brooklyn, NY) to score to make it 3-0. Mitchell Lundholm (Plymouth, MA) plated the fourth run of the game with a single up the middle. Designated hitter Jonathan Rosado (Bayamon, PR) made it a 6-0 game as he took Oquendo deep over the left field fence, his second dinger of the season.
The bats went quiet over the next two innings while Falcons starter Zach Leblanc (Salem, MA) continued his season dominance on the mound, allowing just one hit over the first five innings. The Falcons would add to their lead in the bottom of the 5th as back-to-back walks to open the frame hurt the Gators again as Perez singled in Cameron Pearson (Orlando, FL) who led off the inning with a walk to go up 7-0. Fisher cushioned their lead with three more runs in the bottom of the 6th as Gators reliever Brandon Gallegos was shaky on the mound, allowing three walks and hit a batter to lead to the three runs. The Falcons scored three runs in the inning on just one hit, a double by Lundholm who led off the inning. The Falcons were patient and it paid off as they would take a 10-0 lead into the top of the 7th. Leblanc pitched the complete game finishing the 7th with three straight outs, including two strikeouts.
Lundholm and Perez each had multiple hits in the victory, while combining for three RBI's on the day. Leblanc earned his 7th win of the season pitching the complete game allowing just one hit and striking out four Gators. Ronnie Thomas collected the lone hit for the Gators while Oquendo finished with the loss, allowing seven hits and striking out one.
Game 2 - Fisher 11, University of Maine-Presque Isle 6
In what was the second meeting of the season for the two teams, the Falcons were able to overcome two early deficits to defeat the UMPI Owls, 11-6. In the previous meeting at the Clemente Cup, the Falcons defeated the Owls 20-1 in seven innings, but today's contest was very different as each team battled back and forth for the lead throughout the first eight innings of play. Neither team could get anything going through the first two innings, but UMPI got on the board first in the top of the third. The Owls took advantage of a leadoff walk and a Falcons miscue, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Falcons starter Randolf Flores (Brooklyn, NY) was able to strike out the next batter, but gave up a single to Brad Patterson scoring Justin Mason to take a 1-0 lead. Flores then forced an Owls groundout and a key strike out to end the threat with the Owls up 1-0 heading to the bottom of the third. Fisher quickly responded though, tying it up in the bottom of the frame. Reynaldo Vega (Aguada, PR) singled with one out and stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch allowing Sami Bibovic (Brooklyn, NY) to hit him in on a sacrifice fly to centerfield to tie it 1-1. The Falcons continued the inning with a Lundholm walk and a Rosado double, but a strikeout from UMPI's starter Jordan Young ended the threat.
After a clean 4th inning from Flores, the Falcons took their first lead in the bottom of the 4th. Braxten Ramirez (Amarillo, TX) singled to left with one out and moved up to second on the play as the left fielder bobbled it allowing Ramirez to take the extra base. He then stole third allowing Jean Carlos Figueroa (Dorado, PR) to knock him in for his 8th RBI of the season, giving his team a 2-1 lead after four full. Both starters pitched a clean fifth inning, but UMPI would grab three runs in the top of the 6th to take back the lead 4-2. After a leadoff walk, Coach Dulin went to his bench for his first reliever of the game, Raymundo Gomez (Lynn, MA). He was welcomed to the game with a triple by Ryan Sanderson, plating two runs to make it a 3-2 game. A walk put runners at first and third with one out, but Gomez was able to work out of the jam as Bibovic turned an unassited double play and got a strikeout to end the inning with the Owls up 4-2. Fisher again responded in the bottom of the frame with three runs of their own. Catcher Reynaldo Mejia (Lawrence, MA) started the rally with a single down the left field line with Ramirez following with a walk to put runners on first and second with one out. John Batista stepped in as a pinch hitter and did his job as he singled in his 21st RBI of the season to make it 4-3 putting runners on the corners. A wild pitch from Owls reliever Brad Patterson allowed Ramirez to score and moved Batista all the way to third. Vega added another single to his day, plating Batista but was thrown out at second trying to stretch it into a double to end the inning with the Falcons up 5-4. The Owls answered with another run to tie it 5-5 in the 7th, but the Falcons again took the lead in the bottom of the 7th as Lundholm tripled to start the inning and scored on a Rosado grounder to make it 6-5. UMPI quickly tied it in the top of the 8th, taking advantage of two walks from Falcons pitching and a Richard Coulston single to tie it 6-6 heading into the bottom of the 8th. The Falcons bats answered as they scored five times in the 8th to put the game out of reach. Four singles in the inning from Ramirez, Bibovic, Vega and Lundholm, a walk and the Falcons 8th stolen base of the day, led to five runs and gave them an 11-6 lead heading into the 9th. Yamil Delgado (Caguas, PR) allowed a Jacob Moreno triple in the top of the 9th from, but he did not allow him to score as he recorded three outs for the win, his first of the season and the 24th of the year for the Falcons.
Vega and Lundholm led the way for the Falcons in the nightcap as they both had three hits and two RBI's a piece in the victory. Rosado and Ramirez also had multiple hits in the win, combining for four hits, a double and a pair of stolen bases. Flores pitched a strong five innings, allowing just one hit and striking out three, but it was Delgado who earned the win, allowing three hits and striking out three Owls. Sanderson led the way for the Owls as he was 1 for 4 at the plate with a triple and a pair of RBI's. Patterson would take the loss for the Owls out of the bullpen, allowing six earned runs in the losing effort.
Fisher will take on the Pine Manor Gators again on Sunday, this time in doubleheader action with the first game time slated for 10am.