Bonofiglio, Teal Help Baseball Sweep MCLA, 6-1 and 4-0

Lead Story In Sunday's Telegram & Gazette College Round-Up

Auburn, MA --- Behind a pair of dominant pitching performances by senior classmates Nick Bonofiglio (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) and Alex Teal (Malden, MA), Worcester State defeated MCLA, 6-1 and 4-0, in MASCAC baseball action this afternoon at Auburn High School.

In the opener for the Lancers (7-12, 2-2 MASCAC), Bonofiglio tossed a complete-game one-hitter, giving up the lone earned run as he tied a school record with 15 strikeouts. The mark is also held by Tino Proietti who did it against Anna Maria in 1998.  

Bonofiglio (1-3) impressed by fanning the side to start off the game in the first inning and in the fourth when he stranded a runner at second who reached on an error in the infield.

Freshman Steve Wallace (Auburn, MA) was a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs scored in front of his home crowd while classmate Dennis Duplessis (Marlboro, MA) plated three scores .

Worcester State staked the early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on an RBI ground out by Duplessis when he drove in Wallace, who led off the frame with a two-batter.

The Lancers then put up three more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Duplessis jacked a two-run double up the middle before junior Dan Ubele (Tynsboro, MA) followed with a single to centerfield to score Duplessis.

MCLA (2-13, 1-3 MASCAC) got on the board with a single score in the top of the sixth. Senior Joe Duncan (Dalton, MA) broke up the no-hitter bid to start off the stanza for their lone base-knock of the game with a single up the middle. After Duncan then stole second and third, he scampered home on an RBI ground out by sophomore JT Ferraro (New Paltz, NY).

With the Blue and Gold up 4-1, the hosts put the game away with two more runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Sophomore pinch-runner Steve Fitzmaurice (Foxboro, MA) crossed home plate on an errant throw by the shortstop on a fielder's choice and then senior Nick Gezotis (Westfield, MA) followed by lacing an RBI double to right center.

In the top of the seventh, the Trailblazers put runners on first on second when junior Cody Weaver (Highland, MA) was plunked and when Bonofiglio issued his second walk of the contest with one out. But Bonofiglio reached back and registered a pair of swinging strikeouts to end the game.

Sophomore Tyler Benoit (N. Adams, MA) shouldered the setback for MCLA. Benoit (0-5) yielded six runs (five earned) on eight hits to go with one walk and three strikeouts in his six frames of work.

In the second contest, Teal (3-3) was equally as impressive as he helped his team record the first shutout of the campaign for the Lancers. On just 88 pitches, Teal scattered seven hits over his seven innings on the bump while he fanned six and dealt one free pass.

Worcester State took the 2-0 advantage in the bottom of the second inning. Wallace drove in junior Joe Carlier (Rockland, MA) and then sophomore Zach George (Attleboro, MA) dashed home on a passed ball.

The lead-off man reached over the next two frames, but Teal kept the game right where it was by making the right pitches to strand runners on the corners in the third and he helped spin a key double-play in the fourth.

After the top of the fifth, Teal then set down eight of his last 11 to finish off the contest.

Worcester State notched two more runs in the bottom of the sixth for the 4-0 edge. Wallace plated senior Kurt Sabacinski (Worcester, MA/St. Peter-Marian) before he came around to score on an errant throw by the catcher on a well-executed double-steal.

The multi-hitters for the Blue and Gold in the second game were Sabacinski, Carlier and Wallace. Wallace also had two RBIs and one of four Worcester State swipes. Duncan was 2-for-3 for the visitors.

Junior Ross Miner (Greenfield, MA) absorbed the setback for the Trailblazers as he gave up four runs (two earned) on eight hits to go with two strikeouts and one walk. Miner induced 11 out of a possible 21 ground-outs.

Teal lowered his earned run average from 1.11 to 0.94 while he now has 39 punch outs in 38.1 innings of work – totals which are both second overall in the MASCAC as of this evening.

Both squads will play non-conference opponents in the next week. Worcester State travels to Brandeis for a 3:30 matchup on Tuesday while MCLA hosts Southern Vermont on Wednesday at 3 o'clock.