Suffolk Sweeps GNAC Doubleheader Over Anna Maria

WORCESTER, Ma -- The Suffolk University Baseball team swept a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) doubleheader on Saturday afternoon over the Anna Maria College AMCATS. Suffolk took game one, 10-1 behind a complete game effort by junior Dan Shields (Haverhill, Mass.). In game two, freshman Chuck Gibson (Malden, Mass.) hurled a complete game in his first collegiate start as Suffolk came away with a 6-1 victory.

Game One

Suffolk took a 10-1 victory in game one as they took advantage of 12 base on balls issued by AMCATS' pitchers to open the twinbill.

Suffolk would jump out to a 4-0 lead in the top half of the second inning. Junior Justin Knight (Hackettstown, N.J.) would open the scoring when he knocked in a pair of runs with a single to left to plate sophomore Rob Marks (Revere, Mass.) and junior JC Collette (Amesbury, Mass.). Cintolo would draw a bases loaded walk later in the inning to bring home another run, before sophomore Jon Lapolla (Providence, R.I.) drew a hit by pitch with the bases jammed to cap off the four run inning.

Cintolo would drive home a run later in the fourth inning as his base hit up the middle would plate senior Mac Jacobson (Norfolk, Mass.).

Shields would cruise on the mound for Suffolk throughout most of the game. He allowed a leadoff single to senior Carlos Ortiz (Worcester, Mass.) to start the game for the AMCATS offensively in the first. He would settle down retiring nine hitters in a row through the middle of the contest before running into a jam in the sixth.

Freshman Joshua Creamer (Groveland, Mass.) would double down the left field line with one out in the sixth before coming around to score on an opposite field double to left center by junior Corey Andrade (Mashpee, Mass.) for Anna Maria's lone run of the game.

Shields struck out a pair in his seven innings of work to pick up his second victory of the season on the hill for Suffolk. Saturday's start was his first of the season.


Game Two

Chuck Gibson cruised through seven innings of work to earn his first career collegiate victory in his first start of 2014 as Suffolk took a 6-1 win in game two. Gibson allowed one run on four hits while striking out a pair in seven innings of work.

Neither team could score through the first three innings of the game until Mac Jacobson brought home the game's first run with a single up the middle to plate Rob Marks for the 1-0 Suffolk lead.

Suffolk would tack on a pair in the fifth as Jones and Collette put together back to back base hits with one out, before Marks's single down the left field line would bring home another run. Jacobson would pick up his second RBI base hit in as many at-bats to bring home Collete for the 3-0 Suffolk edge.

Jake Cintolo would lead the sixth inning off with a double to right center. The hit was the 224th of his career a new Suffolk program high, while he continues to add to his career doubles record with his 56th two-bagger.

Cintolo would come around later to score in the inning as Suffolk took advantage of one of four AMCATS' errors in the game. Senior Jack Sullivan (Hamilton, N.Y.) would cap the inning off with an RBI single to left to bring home junior pinch runner Adam Johnson (Georgetown, Mass.) for the 6-0 lead.

Anna Maria would score their lone run of the game as Carlos Ortiz' groundout to short scored freshman Joseph Fahey (Auburn, Mass.). Fahey drew a one out walk, the only free pass handed out by Gibson on the day.

Junior Tyler Stuart (Oxford, Mass.) threw 5 2/3 innings on the mound for the AMCATS. He surrendered six runs, two earned on 10 hits while striking out a pair.

Anna Maria's Corey Andrade collected his second double of the day in the first. Andrade was 2-for-6 with a pair of doubles on the day, while Creamer was also 2-for-6 in the doubleheader. Senior John Sullivan (Southbury, Conn.) was 1-for-3 in game two with a double to lead off the seventh.

For Suffolk, Marks finished game two going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI. He finished the doubleheader with four runs scored. Jacobson was 2-for-5 in game two with a pair of RBI.

The doubleheader loss sets Anna Maria back to a 3-12 overall mark on the season, and 0-4 in GNAC play. They'll be back in action on Sunday afternoon as they travel to Nashua, N.H. to take on Rivier University in a conference doubleheader.