Baseball Takes Two From Nichols College

DUDLEY, Mass. – Junior Corey Andrade (Mashpee, Mass.) went a combined 4-for-9 with four RBI and two runs scored for the AMCATS (7-22) as Anna Maria College swept Nichols College in non-conference baseball action on Tuesday afternoon. The AMCATS won game one, 10-4, and game two, 4-1.

Junior Evan Thompson (Longmeadow, Mass.) drove in two runs for the Bison (6-28), who close their 2014 season tomorrow afternoon with a 3:30 p.m. home contest against Springfield.

Nichols committed seven errors in the opener which led to seven unearned runs. Anna Maria pushed across three unearned runs in the second to open up a 3-0 lead. Freshman Corey McNair (Shrewsbury, Mass.) doubled in Andrade in the third to make it 4-0, and two more in the fifth extended the AMC lead to 6-0.

Thompson's sac fly in the bottom of the fifth cut the Bison's deficit to 6-1, but the AMCATS answered with four in the sixth – highlighted by RBI hits from junior David Julian (Sterling, Mass.) and sophomore Matthew Leahy (Rutland, Mass.) – to move in front 10-1. An Iacobucci RBI single in the sixth, followed by an RBI double from senior Shayne McNally (Auburn, Mass.) and an RBI groundout from junior Brett Franciosi (Leominster, Mass.) in the seventh closed the scoring.

Junior Brett Lewis (North Attleboro, Mass.) was tagged for 10 hits and 10 runs (three earned) in six innings in defeat. He walked two and fanned one in his first loss of 2014. Junior Lucas Davis (Spencer, Mass.) allowed eight hits and two runs with four strikeouts in six innings of work to earn his first win of the season.

Anna Maria freshman Joshua Creamer (Groveland, Mass.) walked to lead off game two and came around to score the first run of the game on a double off the bat of Andrade. The visitors doubled their lead in the third when, once again, Creamer drew a leadoff walk and scored on a single by Andrade.

Sophomore Julian Diaz (Providence, R.I.) drove in the third AMCATS run in the fourth with a single to center. Nichols answered with one in the fifth on Thompson's RBI groundout that plated freshman Anthony Razzano (Shrewsbury, Mass.) before senior John Sullivan's RBI single in the seventh made it 4-1. Sullivan finished the day with two hits and is now three shy of 100 for his career.

Junior Tyler Stuart (Oxford, Mass.) picked up his first win as he tossed 6.1 innings of six-hit ball. He did not walk a batter and struck out two. Freshman Tyler Ferdinand (Middleboro, Mass.) gave up five hits and three runs with four walks and a pair of K's in five innings for Nichols.

Anna Maria closes its season tomorrow with a 4 p.m. contest at Becker.