Baseball splits double-header with Mass Maritime

(Buzzards Bay, MA) The Rivier University baseball team captured their first win of 2013 as they took the front half of a double-header this afternoon at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Following the 3-2 win, the Raiders' bats fell silent as they lost the second game by a 1-0 final.

Game One: Rivier University 3, Massachusetts Maritime 2

Junior Gabe May (Portsmouth, NH) earned his first collegiate victory as he tossed 5.1 innings in game one of the day's double-header. The right-hander kept the Buccaneers off balance all day as he only allowed two earned runs on eight hits and struck out three.

With one out, runners on second and third and clinging on to a slim one run lead, Rivier sophomore Steve Carlberg (Dover, NH) was summoned from the bullpen to escape the jam. He immediately struck out the first batter he faced before throwing a wild pitch that took a Rivier bounce and was able to tag out the MMA runner trying to score. Carlberg would then sit down the side in order to seal the win and earn a save.

The Raiders collected all of their runs in the third inning. Freshman Jeremy Ball (Swanzey, NH) and senior John DiBenedetto (Tampa, FL) began the frame with back-to-back singles. After a successful sacrifice bunt from sophomore Bryar King (Berlin, NH), classmate Micheal Scanlon (Plantsville, CT) laced a RBI base hit to center. Senior Aramis Velez (Lowell, MA) then produced a sacrifice fly that plated DiBenedetto before senior Kyle Bowser (Newington, NH) tripled home Scanlon.

Ball, Scanlon and freshman Taylor Black (West Springfield, MA) all collected two hits in the opening game as the Raiders improved to 1-8 on the young season.

Game Two: Massachusetts Maritime Academy 1, Rivier University 0

Freshman Jon Chotkowski (Tewksbury, MA) toed the rubber for Rivier in the second game and was matched pitch-for-pitch from MMA's Tyler Genereux.

The game's only run came in the bottom of the first inning with two away. Bobby Rosano hit a sharp single and scampered into second after a miscue by the Raider outfield. The next batter, Ben Maher, then hit a RBI double to right-center to account for all of the offense in the game.

Chotkowski threw just 73 pitches over his four innings of work. The left-hander allowed just one unearned run on three hits and sat down four Buccaneers by way of the K, including the final batter he faced. Sophomore Jesse Turcotte (Tygnsboro, MA) threw the final two innings of no-hit baseball.

Velez went 2-for-3 while Ball was 1-for-2 as the Raiders managed just three hits in the nightcap.

Rivier will travel to Gordon College for a 3pm game tomorrow afternoon for their next scheduled contest. The game was originally supposed to be played on Wednesday but was moved up due to the impending snow storm. Massachusetts Maritime will host Johnson and Wales University on Tuesday beginning at 3:30pm.