Baseball sweeps MCLA in three-game series

By Izabela Gage Sports Editor After a 7-5 win in 11 innings on April 10, the Framingham State Rams completed their sweep over the MCLA Trailblazers with two wins, with scores of 9-1 and 2-1, on April 11. These three wins improve their conference record to 4-10 and their overall record to 6-17. In the first game, the Rams had a quiet first inning, but after two outs, the Trailblazers hit a single and then earned a walk. They hit another single to center field and made it home to take the lead 1-0. After a hitless second, third, and fourth inning for both teams, sophomore Rosco Palmer brought back the energy in the top of the fifth when he hit a home run to left field. Freshman Zach Kern then advanced to first on a fielding error before sophomore Jakob Lindkvist singled. Junior Colin Johnson hit a single of his own, moving the bases, and Kern was able to score unearned. The Trailblazers responded quickly in the bottom of the fifth inning, when MCLA’s Benjamin Jacob singled and then advanced to second on a throwing error. Their next batter grounded out, and Jacob made it to third. After another single by MCLA’s Jake Jasminski, Jacob made it to home unearned, successfully tying the game 2-2. Both teams remained scoreless in the sixth inning, and in the seventh, both the Rams and the Trailblazers were retired in order. In the top of the eighth, Johnson singled through the left side and stole second, but the Rams were unable to capitalize after a double play. Framingham had a strong defense and prevented MCLA from scoring in the bottom half, with two groundouts and a strikeout. The Rams were unable to generate offense in the ninth. In the bottom of the inning, freshman pitcher August Hayes entered in relief. MCLA doubled to left center and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, but the Rams' defense held firm, sending the game into extra innings. Kern and Lindkvist got out in the 10th inning before junior Scott Paquette singled up the middle. Johnson followed with a flyout, leaving Paquette stranded. Good pitching and fielding by the Rams made the Trailblazers go down in order in the bottom of the 10th. The Rams broke through at the top of the 11th. Junior Massimo Mondi led off with a walk, followed by sophomore Christian Cox being hit by a pitch. A sacrifice bunt by junior Johnny Lynch advanced both runners into scoring position. Sophomore Nicholas Kutcher then singled down the left field line to bring home Mondi. Palmer followed with a single to left field, loading the bases. Kern delivered a two-RBI single down the right field line, scoring Kutcher and Cox, and later stole second. Lindkvist added to the rally with a two-RBI single up the middle, bringing in Kern and Palmer. Paquette struck out swinging, and Johnson fouled out to end the inning, but the Rams had a 7-2 lead. MCLA attempted a comeback in the bottom of the 11th. Christopher Gallagher singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch, and their next batter followed with a single to right center, moving Gallagher to third. Joe Sardo followed with a single through the right side to score Gallagher, while Roshan Warriar advanced to third. Their next batter grounded out, bringing in Warriar. Jacob reached first on a fielding error, and Sardo advanced to third and scored on a throwing error, unearned. With two outs, Jacob was thrown out at second to end the game 7-5 in favor of the Rams. In the second game of the series, the Trailblazers struck first at the top of the first inning. Warriar tripled to right field and later scored on a sacrifice fly to give MCLA a 1-0 lead. Framingham responded immediately in the bottom half with a six-run inning. Cox singled and stole second while Lynch drew a walk. Kutcher doubled to left field to bring Cox home and move Lynch to third. Palmer followed with a two-RBI single to bring in both runners and then stole second. Kern extended the rally with an RBI triple to right field, and Lindkvist added another RBI with a triple to center. Paquette capped the inning with a sacrifice fly to score Lindkvist, giving the Rams a 6-1 lead. The Trailblazers reached first on a fielding error and a muffed throw at the top of the second, but the Rams ended the inning without allowing a run. Framingham went down in order in the bottom of the second, and MCLA was again held scoreless in the third despite a walk and a single. Palmer added to the Rams’ lead in the bottom of the third when he tripled to right field and scored on a sacrifice fly from Kern, extending the advantage to 7-1. The fourth inning was quiet for both teams. The Trailblazers then recorded a single in the fifth, but were unable to convert a run. The Rams added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Cox doubled to right field, and Lynch singled to move him to third. Kutcher then singled to bring Cox home. After a sacrifice bunt by Palmer advanced the runners, Kern grounded out to score Lynch, making it 9-1. MCLA put two runners on with walks in the sixth inning, but they were unable to score. Framingham threatened in the bottom half with a double from Johnson, but left him stranded. In the seventh, the Trailblazers reached on a fielding error and a hit-by-pitch, but the Rams closed out the inning to secure the 9-1 win. In the final game of the series, both teams were held scoreless through the first two innings. In the third, MCLA hit a single, and the runner advanced on a wild pitch, but was left stranded after two outs. Framingham managed a double from Mondi, but he was thrown out to end the inning. MCLA broke through in the top of the fourth inning. After reaching on a throwing error and adding a single, the Trailblazers loaded the bases with a walk. Their next batter then drew a walk to bring in a run, taking a 1-0 lead. Framingham’s batters went out in order at the bottom of the fourth. MCLA added two hits in the fifth but were unable to score after a strikeout. In the bottom of the fifth, Palmer walked and stole second, but the inning ended with two strikeouts. The Trailblazers went down in order with two strikeouts and a groundout at the top of the sixth. The Rams responded in the bottom half, when Johnson walked and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Cox then singled to bring him home, tying the game 1-1. In the bottom half of the seventh, Kutcher tripled to right field, and Palmer followed with a single to center field to drive him in. The Rams secured the 2-1 victory to complete the three-game sweep over MCLA. Kern tallied three runs, five RBIs, and two hits throughout the three wins. Kern said, “My mindset with runners on base is to stay simple and get a good pitch to hit. I’m not trying to do too much, just put a solid swing on the ball and move runners. “When you keep it simple and put the ball in play, good things usually happen, especially with guys in scoring position,” he added. He said the offense builds “momentum through the lineup. Once we start stringing hits together, it puts pressure on the defense and keeps everyone locked in.” Cox had three hits, three runs scored, and one RBI across the three games. He said, “I found pitches to drive, stayed very disciplined up there - only attacking pitches that I thought would be game-changing. Staying balanced and trusting my hands is what I turn to when it’s crunch time.” The Rams lost to the Mass. Maritime Buccaneers 6-2 in a conference matchup April 14. Cox said the team’s biggest improvement this season has been their hitting. “Everyone is being more disciplined and grinding at bat to get on and score for the team. … We still look to clean up our defense so we can win more ball games.” The Rams defeated the Curry College Colonels 9-8 April 15, but fell to the Emerson College Lions 19-5 April 16, bringing their overall record to 7-19, while their conference record remains 4-11. The Rams face the Westfield State Owls in a three-game series April 17 and 18, aiming to improve their conference record. Cox said, “It’s a team sport - everyone has to plug away and work together. If it wasn’t for guys getting on and executing, we wouldn’t be able to do what we did. When everyone does their job, there is no stopping us.” Kern said, “Moving forward, we’re focused on tightening everything up and playing more consistent baseball. Our goal is to make a strong push for the playoffs and compete to win it all, and we believe we’re capable of that.”