Lynn, MA- The Falcons win streak came to end on Saturday afternoon as they suffered a doubleheader loss to the visiting Bryant & Stratton Bobcats, 7-3 and 6-4. The Bobcats avenged Friday's defeat when the Falcons took the first game of the series 8-6. The Falcons are now 28-12 on the season and the Bobcats improve to 14-17 after the best of three series.
Game 1- The Falcons started the action in the first game after two quiet innings from the pitching staff on both sides as they got on board first in the bottom of the third. Falcons second baseman Jacob Deziel (Merrimac, MA) kicked off the inning with a single, and Jorge Sanchez (Caguas, PR) and Ivan Rivera (Brooklyn, NY) followed with singles of their own to load the bases with no outs. Mitchell Lundholm (Plymouth, MA) put his team on the scoreboard first with the fourth straight single, scoring Deziel to take a 1-0 lead. The Bobcats starter Zach Mattos was able to limit the damage as he woFisher thrked out of the jam getting the last two outs. Falcons starter John Hilcher (Bloomfield, NJ) worked a no-hitter heading into the fourth, but B & S got to him in the top of the 4th after a leadoff double from Michael Santos and a sac fly from Emerson Gomez to tie it up 1-1. Fisher threatened another run in the bottom of the inning as Cameron Pearson knocked a double to the gate, but Mattos again worked out of the jam. Hilcher continued his strong start in the fifth, allowing just his second hit of the contest keeping the visitors off the board. The Falcons made it a 2-1 game after Sanchez tallied his second hit of the game and Lundholm knocked him with an RBI double.
The sixth inning proved to be the difference in the contest as the Bobcats put four on the scoreboard. Hilcher was replaced by Wesley Lopez (Caguas, PR) to start the inning and B & S took advantage, tagging him for four runs on four hits. Raymundo Gomez (Lynn, MA) replaced Lopez and was able to limit the damage getting a strikeout to end the inning putting the visitors up 5-2. The bats got quiet for both sides over the 7th and 8th as neither team could get a baserunner past first base. The Bobcats tacked on two more runs as Jedion Cras took Gomez deep for a two-run homer giving them a 7-2 lead. The Falcons added one more run in the bottom of the 9th as Sanchez doubled off Mattos and Lundholm added another RBI to bring the score to 7-3, but that's as close as they could get, falling in nine innings and snapping the 13-game skid.
Sanchez led the Falcons with a 3-hit performance, the fifth time he has collected three or more runs this season. He also added an RBI in the losing effort. Lundholm added three more RBI's to his NAIA leading total, and has now earned at least one hit and one RBI in his last nine games. Mattos earned the win for the Bobcats, while Lopez took his second loss of the season.
Game 2- The Bobcats started right where they left off in the nightcap as they scored in the top of the first inning off of Falcons starter Randolf Flores (Brooklyn, NY). A leadoff double from Jedion Cras got the action started for the Bobcats, and scored on a Falcons miscue to go up 1-0. Flores limited the damage as he got Jion Cras to hit into an inning-ending double play. Fisher responded in the bottom of the inning, tagging Bobcats starter Matt Kennedy for three runs to take their first lead of the game. Sanchez led off the game with his fourth hit of the day and advanced to third on a steal and a balk. After a walk for Rivera, Lundholm extended his hitting and RBI streak to 10 with another single scoring Sanchez. A wild pitch moved up both runners as Rivera scampered home for the second run and allowed John Batista (Lawrence, MA) to single home Lundholm for the 3-1 lead after one inning of action. The Bobcats answered with another run in the top of the 2nd after a leadoff single from Gomez and some aggressive baserunning making it 3-2 after an inning and a half. Both starters kept the offense off the board for the next three innings as the Falcons were up 3-2 heading into the bottom of the 5th.
Rivera led off the inning with a double and proceeded to steal third base for his 10th stolen base of the season. Lundholm earned his second RBI of the contest as singled home Rivera for the 4-2 lead with no outs. Fisher looked to extend the lead, but Kennedy was able to get the next three batters to keep his team within two runs. After a clean inning for Falcons reliever George Gali (Guayama, PR), the Bobcats took over the lead with a 4-run sixth inning off of Yamil Delgado (Caguas, PR), taking over some wildness from the reliever and a pair of unearned runs. The Bobcats took the 6-4 lead into the bottom of the 6th, and Kennedy finished up his complete game start by retiring the last six Falcons for the win.
Lundholm was the lone Falcon to tally multiple hits in game 2 as he went 3 for 4 at the plate with a pair of RBI's. Flores had a strong start holding the Bobcats to three hits, but would earn a no-decision as Delgado suffered his first loss of the season. Jedion Cras and Gomez each had two hits a piece in the win for the visitors and Kennedy earned the win, holding the Falcons to seven hits while striking out five.
The Falcons are back at it Sunday afternoon as they take on the College of Saint Joseph in doubleheader action starting at 1pm.