By Riley Crowell
Asst. Sports Editor
The Framingham State Rams returned from their eight-game Florida trip with a record of 0-8, playing two doubleheaders and four individual games against teams from Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
The Rams got off to a hot start on the trip, scoring in the first inning of the front-end of their doubleheader against the Western New England Golden Bears, thanks to junior shortstop Steven Burbank’s triple and a subsequent wild pitch.
Ram batters senior third baseman JC Espinal, graduate utility-man Robert Johnston, and sophomore catcher Johnny Lynch all collected two hits in the game.
Framingham’s bats fell quiet for the rest of the game. The team dropped the first game of the doubleheader with Western New England 11-1 March 17.
Framingham sophomore pitcher Joshua Sunderland pitched five innings, allowing only one earned run and striking out seven Golden Bear hitters.
Errors in the field were costly for the Rams. Three Golden Bear hitters reached base on errors, all of whom came around to score.
Framingham fell 4-2 in the second game of their doubleheader with Western New England.
The Rams faced off against the Presidents of Washington & Jefferson College in a doubleheader March 18.
Framingham’s offense erupted for seven runs in the sixth inning of the first game, powered by RBI hits from Johnston, junior infielder Daniel Robichaud, and junior outfielder Lucas Basile, to take an 11-5 lead.
The Presidents’ lineup countered with a seven-run inning of their own in the bottom of the seventh inning, securing a 12-11 walk-off victory over the Rams.
Washington & Jefferson won the second game of the doubleheader 9-0.
Framingham strung together an impressive offensive performance, but it wasn’t enough as they fell to the Clarkson University Golden Knights 12-9 March 20.
Senior outfielder Ryan Boyle and Espinal each recorded a double and a triple, and had multiple RBIs for the Rams in the loss.
“From last season to this season, I have tried to remember everything that I have been coached in the past and take it into this year to make me the best hitter that I can be,” Boyle said.
Framingham’s offense scored six runs on ten hits in their matchup with the Amherst College Mammoths March 21.
Johnston and Lynch both turned in multi-RBI games at the plate for the Rams.
Two three-run home runs, one of them being a walk-off, propelled the Mammoths to a 9-6 victory over Framingham in extra innings.
The SUNY Maritime Privateers recorded 16 hits, including two home runs, and had four hitters contribute multi-RBI games to catapult them to a 17-3 win over the Rams March 22.
Basile and Burbank tallied multi-hit games for Framingham, but SUNY Maritime’s offense proved to be too much.
The Rams scored five runs on eleven hits, including a solo home run by Robichaud, but surrendered 10 runs to the Pointers of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in a 10-5 loss March 23.
Framingham returned home to chilly Massachusetts for an away game against the Lesley University Lynx March 26.
The Rams amassed 11 runs on nine hits on their way to their first victory of the season, an 11-9 win over Lesley.
Framingham’s offense put together a balanced attack, with six different hitters tallying RBIs in the game, and senior catcher Jared MacLeod hitting a solo home run.
Despite the slow start for the Rams, players remain optimistic about the remainder of the season.
Sophomore center fielder Shane Costello said the team is “feeling confident and prepared for conference play.
“Expect a competitive season out of us,” he added.
Boyle said, “We are still confident that we can turn things around come conference play.
“The FSU community can expect the baseball team to make a playoff appearance and hopefully make a deep run,” he added.
The Rams hold a 1-9 record after their first 10 games, and travel to Bridgewater for a MASCAC matchup March 29.