Lynn, Mass. - The men's baseball team opened their 2018 season with two pair of wins to start 4-0 as they swept both Rivier University and College Of Saint Joseph's over the weekend.
Saturday, September 22nd vs Rivier University (W 8-1, W 15-1)
The Raiders (0-2) kicked off the offense in Game 1 when they scored their only run of the game in the first inning, coming off of David Pappalardo's (Methuen, MA) single down the infield line which scored Dillion Brady (Middleboro, MA). The Falcons (4-0) bats woke up in the bottom of the 4th inning, when Ismael Perez (Brooklyn, NY) singled to right field, scoring John Batista (Lawrence, MA) and Mitchell Lundholm (Plymouth, MA). The Falcons tallied another two runs in the 5th inning coming from Cameron Pearson (Orlando, FL) and Lundholm. During the 6th inning Sami Bibovic (Brooklyn, NY) singled to left field scoring Perez, giving the Falcons a 5-1 lead.
The Raiders offense was kept contained by Falcons pitcher Zach LeBlanc (Salem, MA) who faced 23 batters over the course of six innings, tallying eight strike-outs and allowing only five hits. Kevin Bongiovani (Bayside, NY) came in the 7th inning to relieve LeBlanc. During the three innings, Bongiovani faced 10 batters, struck out five and allowed just two hits.
Fisher gained some insurance in the bottom of the 8th inning with a pair walks from Jordan Gosselin (Rochester, NY) and Lundholm, finishing game 1 with an 8-1 victory while earning eight hits and committing zero errors.
Game 2 of the double header was filled with a lot of offensive pressure coming from the Falcons bats, with a total of 19 hits. The Falcons scored two runs in the 1st inning coming from Lundholm's and Jamie Whynot (Bridgewater, Nova Scotia). In the 3rd inning, the Falcons scoring continued with Batista's single that scored Whynot. Freddy Gonzalez (Caracas, Venezuela) smacked a double down the line which scored Batista. Bibovic and Jacob Deziel (Merrimac, MA) each added to the lead by knocking in one run each.
The Falcons bats could not be silenced as they tallied four more runs in the 5th inning off of a string of hits from Jordan Gosselin (Rochester, NH), Whynot, Ismael Tatis (Methuen, MA) and Wilberto Colon (Boston, MA). Gosselin made it 14-0 in the 6th with a grounded out to second base, that brought in Jean Carlos (Dorado, Puerto Rico). The Raiders got on the board in the top of the 7th inning when Brendan Mazzuchelli doubled to right field which scored Giovanni Covino.
Fisher had four different pitchers throw, Edgar Carrasco (Gurabo, Puerto Rico), John Travieso (Miami, FL), George Gali (Guayama, Puerto Rico) and Yamil Delgado (Caguas, Puerto Rico). Carrasco faced 13 batters earning three strike outs and allowed just two hits. Travieso faced 16 batters, struck out three, allowed three hits and one run. Gali pitched one inning and let up one hit, while Delgado pitched one inning and earned two strike outs.
Rutland, VT -
Sunday, September 23rd vs College of Saint Joseph's (W 13-3, W 18-3)
On Sunday, The Falcons headed up to Rutland, VT for a Doubleheader and came back with two more wins filled with a lot of offense. In Game 1, the Falcons offense was led again by first baseman Mitchell Lundholm who has started his junior campaign off strong. He had another four hits, two doubles and two RBI. Sophomore second baseman Jacob Deziel added two hits and three runs scored. Shortstop Sam Bibovic and centerfielder Jorge Sanchez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) stood out defensively, keeping the Saints offense off the board. On the mound, Wesley Lopez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) and Raymundo Gomez (Lynn, MA) combined for six innings, allowing two runs. In the final inning, relief pitcher, in his first ever college appearance, Angel Rivera (Caguas, Puerto Rico) came into the game with a bases loaded, no out jam, and struck out the final three hitters he faced to end the threat. Gomez received the win to go 1-0 on the season.
In Game 2 the offense was paced by leadoff hitter Jorge Sanchez, who had three hits and three runs. Lundholm continued his incredible weekend adding five hits including a two-run blast that started the onslaught in the first inning. He was just a triple shy of the cycle. On the mound, Norberto Ceballos (Loiza, Puerto Rico) came into the game to start the second inning and was able to go four innings while allowing just one run to earn his first victory of the season.
The Falcons will host their next doubleheader at Fraser Field this Saturday as they take on Pine Manor College at 12pm.