‘Cats Break out the Brooms Against Owls

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass – After a late night walk off win over Pine Manor, the AMCATS were back at it on Sunday afternoon for a double header against the Owls from the University of Maine-Presque Isle. After 14 innings of exciting baseball, the AMCATS swept the Owls back to Maine, 4-1 and 6-5. With the two wins, the AMCATS have surpassed the win total of last year's team who finished the year 7-31.

Game 1

The AMCATS put together an 11 hit game as a team. Three of those hits came from Adam Twitchell, two of which were doubles. Adam also stole a base and scored a run in the game. Freshman Jason Shell, Justin Robbins, and Noah Holland each had two-hit games in game one, Shell and Holland each with a double. Robbins and Shell each drove in a run with Jake Crevier driving in another. Starting pitcher, Nick Genatossio pitched 6.0 innings of three hit baseball, allowing just one run and one walk while striking out six Owls hitters to earn the victory. Jack Marzec came in in relief of Genatossio for the seventh inning. He struck out two hitters in route to earning his first save of the season.

Presque Isle recorded three hits in the game, which came from Matt Cauchon, Matt Curry, and Angel Morales. Curry had the only extra base hit, a double, and the only RBI. Cauchon score the Owls only run. Curry was also the team's starting pitcher, he threw a complete game 6.0 innings, allowed 11 hits, four runs, two of which were earned. He walked two and struck out four AMCAT hitters.

Anna Maria plated all of their runs in the first inning with the top four hitters in the lineup scoring them. It began with a Shell single that scored Twitchell, then, a Robbins single scoring Shell, a Crevier ground out that scored Mike Tourony and then an error by the center fielder that put Marzec on first and scored Robbins.

After that, it was all pitching and defense for the AMCATS as they wouldn't score another run all game. The Owls did threaten Anna Maria in the sixth scoring a lone run when Curry doubled to center, scoring Cauchon.

Genatossio's day on the mound came to an end when he and Marzec switched spot on the field and Marzec sat down UMPI in order, striking out two hitters, to give the AMCATS the 4-1 victory.

Game 2

Anna Maria had another double-digit hit game in game two with ten hits, four players posting multi-hit performances, including Adam Twitchell with two more hits, one a double, Jake Crevier who was also two for four with a double, two RBI and two runs scored. Jack Marzec was two-for-three in the game with an RBI and a run scored. Nick Genatossio continued his good day with two hits, a double, and three RBI. Starting pitcher, Camden Brown pitched four innings of no hit baseball. He allowed one run and struck out five Owls hitters. Dan Chambers came in in relief of Brown and allowed the only UMPI hit of the game. Though he allowed four runs to cross the plate, none of them were earned. Twitchell relieved Chambers in the sixth, finishing the game and earning the win in a no hit, one strikeout performance.

UMPI had just one hit in the game which was a single by Ryan Sanderson in the fifth innings. He drove in the only RBI and scored a run. Though the Owls couldn't get much offense going, Bradly Patterson and Angel Morales did successfully steal a base each. Starting pitcher, Tyler McLaughlin only got through 3.2 innings before being relieved. McLaughlin gave up eight hits, four runs, all earned, walked four AMCATS and struck out two. Though he had given up four runs, Sanderson, who would have been one of the heroes for UMPI had the seventh inning not gone the way it did, gave up the winning run in the bottom of the seventh on the mound as he threw 0.2 innings, allowing two hits, two runs and striking out one hitter.

The Owls struck first in the top of the first inning, taking a 1-0 lead when Curry reached on an error scoring Patterson who had reached base after a wild pitch on a swinging strike out to lead off the game, then advanced to second on a ground out, then third on another wild pitch.

The AMCATS couldn't answer in the bottom of the first but, after Brown sat the Owls down in order in the top of the second, the 'Cats tied the game up in the bottom of the inning when Genatossio singled to right center scoring Crevier.

In the bottom of the third, Crevier and Marzec would break the tie and give Anna Maria a 4-1 lead on a double and a single respectively that scored Justin Robbins, Mike Tourony, and Crevier.

The three-run lead would last until the fifth when it seemed that the wheels were falling off for the AMCATS. After a walk, which was strongly questioned, then a hit batter, followed by an error, UMPI scored four runs in the inning including a single by Sanderson that turned in to a "little league home run" after an error that cleared the bases and scored Sanderson as well as the ball rolled to the fence.

With three at-bats left, the AMCATS weren't out of it yet but they were on thin ice. Unable to do anything in the fifth or the sixth, it came down to the seventh inning. It didn't start off so well, With Holland striking out and Crevier grounding out to second. But, what happened next couldn't have been scripted any better. Marzec singled one a chopper over the pitcher's head, Tanner Jakola got hit by a pitch and with two outs and the winning run on first, Genatossio hit a deep, soft liner to left center that fell for a double. Marzec scored easily and with the game tied, Jakola was sent home from third. The throw wasn't in time and for the second time in under 24 hours, the AMCATS had walked off with the win, improving to 8-10 on the season.

The AMCATS are back on the field Tuesday afternoon on the road against Fitchburg State. This will be the second meeting between the two teams this season. Venue and time of the game is still to be determined.