LYNN, Mass. – Third-seeded Johnson & Wales University jumped out to an 11-0 lead but had to hold off a comeback by fourth-seeded Lasell College Saturday, knocking the Lasers out of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) baseball tournament with a 12-8 victory at Fraser Field.

The Wildcats (25-14) will play again later Saturday in another elimination game against the loser of Saturday's game between #2-seed Saint Joseph's College of Maine and top-seeded Suffolk University. Lasell winds up its season at 23-17, posting the most wins in the 11-year history of the program.

Things did not start well for the Lasers as JWU plated six runs in the first inning. Senior Aidan Hagarty (Weed, Calif.) had a two-run triple and classmate Tim Lombardi (Providence, R.I.) added a two-run single to highlight the rally. It went from bad to worse in the third inning as the Wildcats tacked on five more runs as freshman Alex Domingos (Ellington, Conn.) cracked a three-run triple down the right field line and came home on a single by senior Adam Diehl (Cypress, Texas) to make it 11-0.

The Lasers did not quit and came back with three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings. Seniors Andre Marchesseault (Cheshire, Conn.) and Brett Sherron (Howard Beach, N.Y.) each had RBI singles to highlight the fifth-inning rally, and Marchesseault had a two-run double to spark the sixth-inning rally.

Down by six, Lasell staged another rally in the ninth inning. Senior Evan Michalek (Berlin, Conn.) drove in two runs with a single to right center, but the Lasers couldn't overcome such a big deficit.

Sherron finished with three hits and an RBI for Lasell, and Marchesseault had two hits and three RBI. Sophomore Wyatt Sihvonen (Lebanon, Conn.) reached base four times with two hits and a pair of walks.

Senior David Marsell (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) started and took the loss (3-5) for Lasell. Classmate Brian Cohen (Rockland, Mass.) had a strong stint in relief, pitching four innings and allowing just one unearned run on two hits and two walks, striking out two.

Marchesseault and senior pitcher Dan Petr (East Haven, Conn.) were Lasell's representatives on the All-Tournament Team.

-- 30 –-