‘Cats Clip Falcons in Second Game of Home & Home

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass – Wednesday night the AMCATS faced the Fitchburg State Falcons for the second time this season. After a season opening loss, 10-0, to the Falcons, the 'Cats were looking for revenge at New England Baseball Complex in a late night, 9:05pm, game. In the end, they got their revenge, splitting the season series with Fitchburg, with a 9-3 victory in a game that ended just after midnight, Thursday morning.

Anna Maria strung together seven hits in the game, getting three from Nick Genatossio in a three-for-four night, all singles. He added three two RBI and a run scored. Freshman, Jason Shell went one-for-two in the game, his lone hit coming in the form of a double, and drove in three runs. Left fielder Noah Holland, batted two-for-four in the game with a double, and scored two runs. Sophomore catcher Greg Gehring, who had been on the mend over the weekend, had his first action since last Friday night and went one-for-three in the game, scoring three of the nine AMCAT runs. Starting pitcher, Jack Marzec, threw five innings, giving up no hits, allowing two runs, both earned. He did walk seven and only struck out two hitters but, ended up earning the win. Adam Twitchell came in in relief in the sixth to throw one inning, striking out a batter and recording a hold. Normally a starting pitcher, Colin Pipkin, came in in the seventh and worked three innings of two hit, one run baseball, striking out five hitters, earning the save.

The Falcons only mustered up two hits in the game, coming off the bats of Sean Maki and Brennan Cuddahy. Maki also scored a run in the game, the other two were scored by Nicholas Cordeau and Alexander Bissanti. Starter, Andrew Mooney, threw six innings, allowing four hits, three runs, and struck out four AMCAT hitters. The AMCATS didn't score the winning run until reliever Shaun Gamelin came in to the game which left Gamelin with the loss on the night.

For a game that had 12 runs between the teams, the scoring didn't start until the third inning when the AMCATS scored two runs on a Shell double, Genatossio and Tanner Jakola scoring to give AMC a 2-0 lead. The Falcons answered in the bottom of the inning when Bissanti scored the first Falcon run on a wild pitch. The second run of the inning was scored on a sacrifice fly by Cuddahy, scoring Cordeau.

With the score 2-2 after three innings of play, neither team was able to cross the plate until the fifth when Gehnring crossed the plate and on a Genatossio single to right center field.

The 'Cats would hold the Falcons in the fifth and sixth and add to their 3-2 lead in the seventh on a bases loaded hit by pitch of Mike Tourony that scored Gehring for the second time. Now up 4-2, with Pipkin in in relief, looking for the three inning save, the AMCATS allowed a Falcon runner to come across in the bottom of the seventh on a Cuddahy double, scoring Maki.

The next two innings would but the proverbial nail in the coffin for the AMCATS as with a 4-3 lead, in the eighth, the 'Cats brought home three more runs in the form of Holland, on a Jakola walk with the bases loaded, an Adam Twitchell walk with the bases loaded, scoring Jake Crevier, and a sacrifice fly from Shell, scoring Gehring for the third time.

The ninth saw two more 'Cats score with Holland scoring the eighth run of the game on a Genatossio single, and Crevier scoring on a wild pitch. Now down six runs, down to their final three outs of the game, the Falcons faced Pipkin in the bottom of the ninth, and while they were able to load the bases, the AMCATS pitching and defense was able to keep the Falcons from scoring any more runs, leaving Northborough with a revenge, 9-3 victory over Fitchburg State to improve to 9-10 on the season.

The AMCATS are back in action tomorrow afternoon on the road against Rhode Island College at 3:30pm in North Providence.