WALTHAM, Mass. – Emerson College came back from an 8-0 deficit Thursday evening to defeat Lasell College, 9-8, in a non-conference baseball game at rainy Stein Field.
Emerson snapped a four-game losing streak to improve to 7-15 overall while Lasell slips to 3-13.
Junior Andre Marchesseault (Cheshire, Conn.) led the Lasers with two hits and five RBI, including a fourth-inning grand slam.
Junior Jake Mitchell (Monroe, Ohio) pitched four-and-two-thirds inning of scoreless relief to lead the Lions, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out seven. Emerson out-hit the home team 15-8 in the game, as senior Joey Jacobs (Concord, Mass.) and freshman John Gabert (Bedford, N.H.) both finished 3-for-3, with Jacobs driving in three and Gabert knocking in two.
Lasell jumped on top with single runs in the second and third innings. Senior Dom Mascolo (Waterbury, Conn.) led off the second with a walk, advanced to third on a wild pitch and a passed ball and scored on an infield grounder; and freshman Harrison Silva (Lowell, Mass.) singled in the third, stole second and scored on a single by Marchessault.
The Lasers exploded for six runs in the fourth inning. Sophomore Grant Duford (Simsbury, Conn.) hit an RBI single and freshman Jimmy Griffin (Worcester, Mass.) hit a sacrifice fly to bring in the first two runs. After a walk to Silva and junior Zach Herring (Fresno, Calif.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Marchesseault belted his second home of the season over the left field fence to make it 8-0.
Emerson bounced back with five runs in the top of the fifth inning as rain came down. After loading the bases with no outs on a walk by senior Pablo Feldman (Mill Valley, Calif.) and singles by sophomore Joe Cuccio (Jefferson, N.J.) and sophomore Joe Paladino (Bedminster, N.J.), Jacobs drove in two runs with a single off the shortstop's glove. Gabert singled to right to knock in another run, and a single by senior Tim Quitadamo (Worcester, Mass.) and a Lasell error brought home two more runs to cap the inning.
The Lions came all the way back to even the score at 8-8 with a three-run sixth inning. Consecutive RBI singles by sophomore Cam Beattie (Gilbert, Ariz.) and Jacobs plated two runs, and Gabert's two-out single to right tied it up. Emerson took the lead with the eventual game-winning run in the top of the eighth on walks to Jacobs and Gabert, a pair of wild pitches, and an infield ground out by Quitadamo.
Mitchell held Lasell at bay from the fifth inning on, earning the win (2-2). Lasell put two runners on base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning but sophomore Sam Knox (Sturbridge, Mass.) came on to post a strikeout to end the game and post his first save.
Lasell returns to Great Northeast Athletic Conference action this Saturday, April 14, hosting Norwich University in a 2:00 p.m. doubleheader. Emerson plays a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference series against Wheaton College, beginning Friday, April 13, at 3:30 p.m. in Norton, Mass.
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