Salem State Baseball Splits Doubleheader at Mass Maritime – Salem State Softball Wins Two at Mass Maritime

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. –  Freshman Ethan O’Hare’s (Marshfield, Mass.) double to left center with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning plated the winning run that lifted Massachusetts Maritime to a 2-1 victory over Salem State in the opener of a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader Friday afternoon at Commodore Hendy Field.  In the nightcap, the Vikings received three hits and a pair of RBI from senior Colton Fontaine (Newburyport, Mass.) in overcoming a 3-0 third inning deficit to post a 6-4 triumph and gain a split of the twinbill. 

The host Buccaneers (8-9, 3-3 MASCAC) took a 1-0 first inning lead in the opener when junior Connor Kennedy (West Barnstable, Mass.) laced a double down the left field line, advanced to third on a sacrifice and scored on junior Logan Sullo’s (Acushnet, Mass.) groundout, and that score held up until the fifth when the visiting Vikings (15-13, 4-2 MASCAC) took advantage of a two-out error and plated the tying tally on sophomore Brendan Greene’s (Winchester, Mass.) RBI single to right field.  Massachusetts Maritime loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh with one out but wasn’t able to capitalize, and after Greene was stranded at second base in the top of the eighth, sophomore Kevin Troy (Braintree, Mass.) was hit by a pitch and scored on O’Hare’s double to the left center field fence for the walk-off triumph. 

Kennedy and Troy each had two hits as part of a six-hit attack in the lid-lifter for Massachusetts Maritime, while Greene accounted for half of Salem State’s hit total in the opener.  Buccaneer senior Daniel Avery (Milford, Mass.) locked up in a pitcher’s duel with Viking sophomore Stephen Keskinidis (Stoneham, Mass.) for the first six-plus frames, as Avery went the distance in allowing four hits and an unearned run while striking out a career-high 12 to improve to 3-1 on the season.  Keskinidis also allowed just four hits and fanned five over six innings of work for Salem State, as senior Tim Woods (Wilmington, Mass.) surrendered O’Hare’s game-winning double to fall to 0-2 on the spring. 

Kennedy gave Massachusetts Maritime a 1-0 lead in its first at-bat of the nightcap with a solo homer (his first of the season) down the left field line, and the Buccaneers extended that margin to 3-0 in the second on an RBI single by junior Casey Furnas (Boca Raton, Fla.) along with a fielder’s choice by sophomore Robert Dembitzki (North Dartmouth, Mass.).  The Vikings crept back to within one in the top of the third on an RBI single by senior Dan Connors (Danvers, Mass.) and a run-scoring double off the bat of senior Joe Kasper (Lynn, Mass.), and Salem State evened matters in the fourth on junior Tyler Galimi’s (Northbridge, Mass.) RBI single.  The visitors took the lead for good in the fifth on a run-scoring triple by sophomore Joe White (Bellingham, Mass.) that was followed by a two-run single from Fontaine, as the hosts got back to within the final margin in the sixth on freshman Nick Haley’s (Hanson, Mass.) sacrifice fly but could get no closer. 

Connors, Galimi and junior Alex Toomey (Beverly, Mass.) each had two hits as part of a 12-hit Viking attack in the nightcap in support of junior Steve Leavitt (Peabody, Mass.), who allowed seven hits and struck out four over six-plus innings to improve to 2-3 on the season.  Freshman JP Reiling (Nahant, Mass.) came on to strike out two of the three batters he faced in the seventh for Salem State, as he left the tying run at the plate to earn his first career save.  Junior Justin Nichols (Adams, Mass.), the second of six Massachusetts Maritime pitchers used in the contest, allowed two earned runs over 1 1/3 innings of relief to suffer the setback on the mound, as freshman Andrew Auld (Wakefield, Mass.) fanned one and allowed two runs over the first three frames for the Buccaneers. 

Massachusetts Maritime heads to North Adams, Mass. on Monday afternoon to take on MCLA in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m., while Salem State hosts Westfield State in a MASCAC twinbill on Monday afternoon in Salem, Mass. that begins at Noon.

GAME #1 FINAL:          MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 2, SALEM STATE 1 (8 INNINGS)

                                                                        123       456       78                     R          H          E

Salem State (14-13, 3-2 MASCAC)                      000       010       00         -           1          4          0

Massachusetts Maritime (8-8, 3-2 MASCAC)       100       000       01         -           2          6          3

BATTERIES

SSU:    Stephen Keskindis, Tim Woods (7) and Zac Duval

MMA:   Daniel Avery and Logan Sullo

WP:      Avery (3-1)        LP:       Woods (0-2) 

GAME #2 FINAL:          SALEM STATE 6, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 4

                                                                        123       456       7                      R          H          E

Salem State (15-13, 4-2 MASCAC)                      002       130       0          -           6          12         0

Massachusetts Maritime (8-9, 3-3 MASCAC)       120       001       0          -           4          7          1

BATTERIES

SSU:    Steve Leavitt, JP Reiling (7) and Teghan Malionek

MMA:   Andrew Auld, Justin Nichols (4), Matt Smith (5), Brian Kwedor (5), Nick Haley (6),

            Jackson Simone (7) and Logan Sullo

WP:      Leavitt (2-3)       LP:       Nichols (0-1)      Home Run:  MMA – Connor Kennedy (1)

---

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. –  Junior Jen Crovo (Melrose, Mass.) rapped out five hits and drove in three runs to lead Salem State to a sweep of a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference softball doubleheader from Massachusetts Maritime by scores of 10-2 in a six inning opener and 7-1 in the nightcap in games played Friday afternoon at Alison Rollins Field. 

The visiting Vikings (16-8, 5-1 MASCAC) plated single runs in their first three at-bats of the opener before extending their lead to 5-0 on back-to-back RBI triples by Crovo and junior Marisa Sanchez (Framingham, Mass.) in the top of the fourth, and Salem State iced its first game triumph with five runs in the top of the sixth on a run-scoring double by senior Jess Raymond (Peabody, Mass.) that was followed by RBI singles off the bats of Crovo, Sanchez and sophomore Dahlia DeCologero (Woburn, Mass.).  The host Buccaneers (4-8, 0-6 MASCAC) got both of their runs in the bottom of the inning on freshman Jenna Nalette’s (Goffstown, N.H.) two-run double to account for the final score, as Crovo and Sanchez combined for five of the visitors’ 11 hits in the lid-lifter.  Junior Meghan Black (Winchendon, Mass.) went the distance inside the circle for the Vikings, as she scattered six hits and fanned two, while Nalette also went the route with three strikeouts in the setback for Massachusetts Maritime. 

Salem State grabbed a 3-0 third inning lead in the nightcap on run-scoring doubles off the bats of senior Bobbie Dee Regan (Lynn, Mass.) and sophomore Samantha Holey (Lynn, Mass.) that were followed by an RBI single from DeCologero, and the Vikings extended that margin to 4-0 in the fifth on junior April Adams’s (Burlington, Mass.) run-scoring safety.  The Buccaneers got on the board in the bottom half of the frame on freshman Melissa Cochrane’s (Walpole, Mass.) RBI single, and the visitors closed out the scoring in the top of the seventh on an error and Crovo’s run-scoring single to account for the final margin. 

DeCologero rapped out three of Salem State’s 14 hits in the nightcap, as Crovo, Holey, Regan, Adams and sophomore Chloe Manousos (Lowell, Mass.) each had two hits in the winners.  Black scattered three hits and struck out four in the second contest for the Vikings, as she improved to 11-3 overall on the spring.  Cochrane allowed four earned runs and fanned a pair while going the distance in the setback for Massachusetts Maritime, which also received singles off the bats of junior Kaylene Murphy (Randolph, Mass.) and freshman Madison Ovadek (Greenland, N.H.). 

Massachusetts Maritime heads to North Adams, Mass. on Monday afternoon to take on MCLA in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m., while Salem State hosts Westfield State in a MASCAC twinbill on Monday afternoon in Salem, Mass. that begins at Noon.

GAME #1 FINAL:          SALEM STATE 10, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 2 (6 INNINGS)

                                                                        123       456                               R          H          E         

Salem State (15-8, 4-1 MASCAC)                       111       205       -                       10         11         1

Massachusetts Maritime (4-7, 0-5 MASCAC)       000       002       -                       2          7          3

BATTERIES

SSU:    Meghan Black and Desiree Moreno

MMA:   Jenna Nalette and Madison Ovadek

WP:      Black (10-3)       LP:       Nalette (2-3) 

GAME #2 FINAL:          SALEM STATE 7, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 1

                                                                        123       456       7                      R          H          E         

Salem State (16-8, 5-1 MASCAC)                       003       011       2          -           7          14         4

Massachusetts Maritime (4-8, 0-6 MASCAC)       000       010       0          -           1          3          5

BATTERIES

SSU:    Meghan Black and Desiree Moreno

MMA:   Melissa Cochrane and Madison Ovadek, Kaylene Murphy (6)

WP:      Black (11-3)       LP:       Cochrane (2-5)