Baseball crushes MCLA in striking 23-4 win
- Izabela Gage
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
By Izabela Gage
Sports Editor
The Rams triumphed over the MCLA Trailblazers 23-4 with a nine-run surge in the fifth inning April 9.
This win evens their conference record to 3-3 and brings their overall record to 5-15.
Freshman Massimo Mondi said their decisive victory is attributed to how “we never got comfortable. We always kept our foot on the gas.”
Both teams had a slow start with two quick, scoreless innings.
MCLA failed to capitalize on their early base runners, stranding two in scoring position in the second inning.
Framingham mirrored MCLA’s slow start, with the Trailblazers’ pitcher keeping Framingham’s hitters off the bases, striking out five in the first three innings.
Christian Cox, a freshman, tried to get the Rams going in the bottom of the second on a single to center field, but he was called out at second base on his attempt to get in scoring position.
The Rams cracked the game open in the bottom of the third.
With the bases loaded and no outs, Mondi stepped up to knock an infield RBI single - a hit that decisively opened the floodgates for the Rams.
A sacrifice fly from Cox brought home another run, bringing the score to 2-0.
Senior Dane Frellick capped off the inning with a single to center field, advancing freshman Rosco Palmer home for another run.
In the bottom of the fifth, Cox singled to right field. Senior Steven Burbank stepped up to bat and homered to left field. These runs strengthened the Rams’ lead to 6-0.
Senior JC Espinal hit a single to right field and advanced to third after a single to left field from Frellick. Freshman Jakob Lindkvist was substituted as a pinch runner for Espinal.
A walk for senior Lucas Basile advanced Frellick to second, and Lynch hit an RBI single to bring in Frellick and Lindkvist and give the Rams an eight-run lead.
With the bases loaded once again in the fifth, Palmer singled to center field, Paquette advanced to third, and Basile dove into home plate.
The Rams’ aggressive base running lent itself to their offensive strength, with Palmer stealing second, and Paquette stealing home, tallying another run for the Rams to make the score 9-0.
After a walk for Mondi, Cox tripled to center field, and Mondi and Palmer both scored.
With a sacrifice fly from Burbank, Cox was able to slide into home plate once more to wrap up the fifth inning 12-0.
The Trailblazers finally put a couple runs on the board for MCLA in the sixth inning with back-to-back hits, bringing the score to 12-2.
In the bottom of the sixth, Frellick grounded out to the Trailblazers’ shortstop, and Basile followed up with a strikeout.
Lynch singled to center field and advanced to second base after Paquette reached first on a fielding error.
Palmer doubled to left field, allowing Lynch to score and Paquette to move to third base.
Cox launched a shot to right field for a home run, igniting Framingham’s offense yet again in the bottom of the seventh.
Burbank followed up with a single to the left side, and freshman Cam Bradford filled in as a pinch runner.
The Rams kept the pressure on after Lindkvist walked and a flyout from Frellick advanced Bradford to third.
Basile walked as a result of a hit-by-pitch to load the bases, setting up Lynch for a strong offensive move for Framingham. Lynch delivered a clutch single to center field, bringing in two runs and moving to second on the throw, while Basile advanced to third. This sequence brought the score to 16-2. A wild pitch followed, allowing Basile to cross home plate, pushing the Rams even further ahead. Pinch hitter Pete Rubini walked and Palmer came through with an infield single to give Lynch an opportunity to slide into home plate. Another pitch helped both Palmer and Rubini advance, and Mondi capitalized with a two-RBI single up the middle. The Trailblazers had a scoreless eighth inning. For the Rams, senior PJ Moniz pinch hit for Lindkvist and rocketed a double to right field and advanced to third on the next hit by freshman Austin Buda, who was pinch hitting for Frellick. Basile singled to left field, and Buda slid into second base, with Moniz making it to home plate. After another single to center from Lynch, the bases were filled once again. Following a sacrifice fly from Rubini, Buda scored to wrap up the eighth inning. MCLA added two final runs in the ninth after loading the bases, as a hit-by-pitch brought in a run and a sacrifice fly plated another, but junior Christian Morrissey ended the game with two big strikeouts. After starting pitcher Nicholas Kutcher's, a freshman, strong four-inning performance, a parade of relief pitchers - including three juniors, two sophomores, and one freshman - combined to limit MCLA to just four runs on seven hits across nine innings. Kutcher limited the Trailblazers to only four hits in four innings and struck out two batters. Lynch said, “Our success … came from the pitchers pounding the zone and attacking the hitters of MCLA. They did a great job of trusting their defense behind them and letting us make plays for them.” Mondi went 2-for-5 at the plate with two runs scored and three RBIs. Mondi said he worked hard during the offseason to develop “all aspects of my game. I think what that did for me was give me the trust in myself to know that I can get the job done. “As the leadoff hitter, my job is to get on base for the guys behind me and to score. I haven’t felt like I’ve had to do too much because I trust them to drive me in. I just have to put them in the position to be successful. I feel like I’ve done a good job of that so far, and I hope to keep it going,” he added. Cox contributed to the win with a triple, a home run, and four RBIs, driving in runs in three innings. Lynch was an unstoppable force at the plate, collecting four RBIs and going 6-for-6 at the plate. Lynch said he has been trying to keep it simple and just “put the ball in play. … My teammates telling me to trust the process was big for me and eventually led to having a good day at the plate.” Palmer went 4-for-6 with three RBIs and two stolen bases, constantly applying pressure to MCLA’s defense. Most recently, the Rams fell to Springfield College 11-6 April 10. The Rams are back in action against the Worcester State University Lancers on their home field April 11. Mondi said the best thing the team can do to keep the momentum going from this win is “to continue playing loose. We always talk about it, but it feels good to start doing it. “We just have to take it one game, one inning, and one pitch at a time, and I know we will be fine,” he added.