Lancers Lose Wild One to Pride in Florida Finale

AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Worcester State University baseball team went toe to toe in a slugfest with Springfield College, but suffered a 13-9 defeat to the Pride on Saturday afternoon at Lake Myrtle Park.

The Lancers close out their Florida trip with a 4-6 record, while the Pride improve to 4-9 with the win.

Sean Dutton (Leominster, Mass.) went 4-5 with three runs batted in, and Zack Roberts (Northbridge, Mass.) hit his first career home run in the bottom of the ninth.

Third baseman Tom Halliwell (Leominster, Mass.) went 3-5 at the dish with two runs scored and an RBI, and made a spectacular defensive play, diving for a ball headed down the third base line and making a throw the get the runner at first by a step.

The two teams traded crooked numbers, with Worcester State taking a 4-1 lead after one run, Springfield tying the game at four and the Lancers grabbing three more runs to reclaim a 7-4 lead after four innings.

Dutton knocked a two-run single to center field with two outs in the bottom of the first as the Lancers put four on the board to take a 4-1 lead after one. The Lancers scored four runs on four hits, including an RBI single by Grant Hartley (Auburn, Maine), who scored on Whitney-Dutton's two-run double.

Springfield pulled back a run in the fifth and then scored four times in the top of the sixth, three of them on a bases-loaded double down the left field line by Ryan Sorgi (Braintree, Mass.).

Dutton singled in another run during a three-run fourth that included a bunt single by Halliwell and a sacrifice fly by Alex Sorenti-Burns (Sagamore Beach, Mass.).

Junior pitcher Kevin Zarnoch (Boston, Mass.) allowed just two earned runs over five innings of work. Zarnoch struck out five and walked just one batter. Brendan O'Shea (Methuen, Mass.) took the loss, his first decision of the year after giving up five runs in two innings.

Both teams pounded out 16 hits, with Hartley and Xavier Quezada (Providence, R.I.), who scored a pair of runs, also recording multiple base knocks. Hartley, who also took two walks, was on base four times and scored a run.

The Lancers will head back home and get ready for a Wednesday afternoon game against WPI. First pitch at NEBC between the Lancers and Engineers is set for 3:30 PM.