Lynn, MA- The Falcons suffered a setback Saturday afternoon with two losses to the visiting Bobcats. On Sunday they got back on track with a pair of wins over The College of Saint Joseph Fighting Saints, 14-2 and 13-0. Both Falcons starters performed well, allowing just eight hits over 13 innings while combining for 18 strikeouts helping their team to a 30-win season to date.
Game 1- The Saints got on the scoreboard first as they took advantage of some early wildness from Falcons starter Jose Galan (Alta, PR). Leadoff man for the Saints Tristen Ciarlo tagged the baseball to the grass for a double to start the game. After a Galan strikeout, a single and a walk loaded the bases with one out. Another Galan walk forced Ciarlo in for the 1-0 lead with the bases still loaded with Saints. Galan ended the threat though with his third strikeout of the inning to keep it a 1-0 game. The Falcons answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the first as Ivan Rivera (Brooklyn, NY) hit a triple off of Saints starter William Leino and followed up with a walk to Mitchell Lundholm (Plymouth, MA). John Batista (Lawrence, MA) tied the game at 1 a piece with an RBI single, plating Rivera. Galan settled in nicely in the second inning, striking out the side for an easy second inning. Ismael Perez (Brooklyn, NY) kept the scoring going in the second as he led off the inning with a double. After a groundout for Reynaldo Vega (Aguada, PR) advanced Perez to third, Jacob Deziel (Merrimac, MA) hit a grounder to the right side giving time for Perez to score easily for the 2-1 lead after two. CSJ collected their only other run of the ballgame in the top of the third without a hit as they took advantage of two walks and a Falcons miscue to tie the game up for the third time. The Falcons continued to stay hot over the next four innings, plating runs in every inning. Batista knocked his first dinger of the year for 2 RBI in the 3rd to give his team a 4-2 lead after three, and the Falcons went on to score 10 unanswered runs on 11 hits for the 14-2 victory in seven innings.
Despite a shaky start for Falcons starter Galan, allowing two hits and two walks in the first inning, the hurler settled down and did not allow another Saints hit for the remainder of his start. Freshman Jared Dane (Fontana, CA) came in for the seventh in relief and retired all three Saints that he faced. The Falcons scored in every inning of the contest, the first time they have done that all season, racking up 17 hits in six innings. Perez had a big day for the Falcons going 3 for 4 at the plate while scoring three times for his squad. Deziel and Batista also were productive offensively as they combined for four hits, eight RBI's and three runs scored in the victory. William Leino suffered the loss for the Saints, allowing eight hits over four innings while striking out a pair of Falcons.
Game 2- CSJ looked to avenge the loss quickly in the top half of the first, loading the bases on three straight singles off of Falcons starter Johann Doerrer (Dolgeville, NY). But Doerrer gave his team back the early momentum as he struck out the next two Saints and forced a groundout allowing the Saints to come out of the first empty handed. The Falcons looked to use that momentum as Sami Bibovic (Brooklyn, NY) led off the game with a single and Cameron Pearson (Orlando, FL) followed up with a walk to put runners in scoring position with no outs. But Saints starter Jason Albert forced a double play to end the threat. Neither team could get anything going over the next two innings with only one hit for either side through the second and third. Fisher earned its first lead however in the bottom of the 4th, plating two runs without collecting a hit. Taking advantage of some wildness from Albert, the Falcons made it a 2-0 game on two walks, a pair of wild pitches and two stolen bags. Doerrer continued his dominance in the top of the 5th, giving his team a chance to put the game out of reach in the bottom of the inning as they plated eight runs to make it a 10-0 game. A walk and two hit batsman loaded the bags up for the Falcons with no outs and Batista and Perez both cracked RBI hits scoring four runs for the home team and forced the Saints to their bullpen. Pearson welcomed Saints reliever Lincoln Pritchard to the game with a 2-RBI single to make it 8-0. Shakiness from Pritchard allowed two more runs as two straight wild pitches made it a 10-0 contest after five full. The Falcons added three more runs in the bottom of the 6th as Vega started the inning off with a single and was moved up on a Jordan Gosselin (Rochester, NY) groundout. After Freddy Gonzalez (Caracas, Venezuela) was walked, Reynaldo Mejia (Lawrence, MA) had an RBI single, scoring Vega to go up 11-0. Braxten Ramirez (Amarillo, TX) then earned his first hit of the day, knocking a triple in the gap for two RBI's to make it a 13-0 Falcons lead. Doerrer shut the door in the 7th for a complete game shut out, earning his third win of the season as he scattered just six hits while striking out seven without a walk.
Pearson, Batista, Ramirez, and Perez each had strong outings for the Falcons in the win as they each contributed with a pair of RBI's while combining for four runs. Jason Albert takes the loss for the Saints, despite just giving up three hits and striking out five Falcons for second loss of the season.
The Falcons now sit 30-12 on the season and have some much needed rest as they do not play again until they play host to the Pine Manor Gators next weekend for two doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday.