BSB: Seniors Sent Off With Sweep of Chargers
Newton, MA - On the day where the Lasell Lasers Baseball team honored their seniors, they swept the Colby-Sawyer Chargers, winning game one 6-5 and game two 18-2. The Lasers are now 15-10 on the season, and 9-1 in GNAC play. The Chargers are now 4-20 and 1-9. In between the two games, the Lasers honored their four seniors Matt Jacobson, Spencer Murphy, Jason Giangrande, and Joey Rego.
Game One
The Lasers wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, as they scored twice in the first inning. After a pair of singles from Bryan Baumann and Connor Freitas, Matthew Bischof hit a sacrifice fly to open the scoring. The Lasers would then load the bases for Christopher Bulk, who walked to make it 2-0. The Lasers would add on to their lead in the third, starting the inning off with a Tyler DiNezza double. He would score on a Bryan Baumann sacrifice fly to make it 3-0. After a walk put a runner on, Matthew Bischof hit his 14th career homerun for the Lasers, extending the lead to 5-0.
The Chargers began to make things interesting in the fourth, as they scored three runs. They added another in the fifth to make it 5-4. A Tim Callahan RBI single in the bottom of the fifth stopped the bleeding, and added a much needed insurance run. After a pair of quick outs in the top of the seventh, the Chargers started a rally. A single, walk, and HBP loaded the bases. a grounder to second seemed to mark the end of the game, but bobble and hurried throw by the Laser's second baseman allowed the runner to be safe at first, making the game 6-5 with the Chargers still having the bases loaded. But Ethan Bernardo stayed composed on the mound, and was able to get the next batter to pop up to first, ending the game.
The Lasers had nine hits in the game, with Bryan Baumann, Connor Freitas, and Matthew Bischof each collecting two. Jared Whitby had a great eye at the plate, walking three times, tied for the second most in a single game in school history. Adam Marsh started for the Lasers, pitching five innings to pick up the win. He now has six wins on the season, the most in school history. He allowed four hits and four runs, with three of them being earned. He struck out six. He was relieved by Ethan Bernardo, who picked up his second save of the season by pitching two innings. He allowed three hits and an unearned run.
Game Two
After escaping game one with a slim victory, the Lasers left no doubt in game two. The opened the game up with a run in the first on a Ross Audet RBI double. The Chargers manufactured two runs in the fourth without a hit thanks to four walks and a pair of ground outs to take a 2-1 lead.
But that was short lived, as the Lasers responded in the bottom half of the inning with a monster 13 run inning, sending 18 batters to the plate. It started with a double from Christopher Bulk, followed by a pinch-hit single for Owen Caldwell. After a walk loaded the bases, Tim Callahan brought home the first run on a sacrifice fly. The next batter popped up, as the huge two out rally began. A pair of RBI singles from Connor Freitas and Matthew Bischof made it 4-2 Lasers. The next batter was Ross Audet, and he hit a ground ball to the third baseman, who found himself trying to tag out the passing by Bischof, all while also trying to throw out Audet at first. Instead of getting either out and ending the inning, he instead threw the ball out of play, scoring both Bischof and Freitas. Jared Whitby then singled home Audet. After another Charger error put another runner on, Caldwell stepped up to bat for the second time in the inning. Also for the second time in the inning, the Chargers had the third out all but taken care of, as Caldwell swung at strike three, but the ball got passed the catcher, and Caldwell ran safely to first to load the bases for Tim Callahan, who cleared the bases with a three RBI double. Freitas then had his second RBI single of the inning, before Audet plated the final two runs of the inning with a two RBI single. Of the Lasers 13 runs, 10 wound up being unearned.
The Lasers continued to take advantage of the Chargers pitching, adding three more runs in the fifth on a pair of RBI doubles from Tim Callahan and Connor Freitas, as well as a Bryan Baumann RBI ground out.
The highlight of the day came in the sixth inning when senior Matt Jacobson came to the plate. The four-year team member, who had just one previous plate appearance, came to bat with a runner on base. After going down 0-2 in the count, he took two pitches before launching a ball over the centerfielder's head, good for a RBI double and the first hit of his career.
The Lasers battered th Chargers around in this game, collecting 18 hits. with 10 different players recording at least one hit, and six with multiple hits. Connor Freitas and Ross Audet each had three hits and three RBI, while Tim Callahan, Jared Whitby, Christopher Bulk, and Pierce Clare each had two hits. Callahan led the team with five RBI. Bulk also scored four runs, tied for the second most in a game in school history. Lasers ace Matthew Fletcher was on the mound, and despite not having his best stuff, managed to work around base runners, and pitched five innings. He allowed four hits and two earned runs while striking out five and walking five. He was relieved by senior Jason Giangrande, who pitched two near perfect innings, striking out four and allowing just one walk.
Up Next - The Lasers will be right back at it on Sunday, as they travel to Norwich for a doubleheader starting at 1pm.
