DUDLEY, Mass. (April 15) – The Nichols College baseball team fell to cross-county rival Worcester State, 7-2, in a non-conference meeting Thursday afternoon. Lancers’ pitcher Shaun Slattery earned the win with a seven-inning, two-hit effort, holding the Bison hitless through the first 4.1 innings while fanning eight in the game to help the visitors move to 18-5-1 on the year. Nichols, meanwhile, falls to 9-19 overall.
Worcester State struck early in the very first inning. Senior shortstop T.J. Magnell led off the inning with a single and stole second base. He was knocked in by the next batter, sophomore Jake Sanderski who singled up the middle before Nichols escaped the inning without further damage. Magnell finished the day 3-for-6 with two RBI and a pair of runs scored, while Sanderski went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI.
The Lancers had runners in scoring position in the second through fifth innings but left the bases loaded in the fourth. After filling them with no outs, Bison reliever AJ Vadala (North Attleboro, Mass.) came on to retire the next three in order to keep the Lancers’ lead at one.
Vadala gave up one hit in the fifth before going 1-2-3, but wasn’t as fortunate in the sixth as the Lancers batted around and put up three runs on four walks, a hit and an error before he was replaced by Dylan Courtney (Ware, Mass.), who finished out the game for the Bison. Corey McDonald knocked a two-run single to send two Lancers across for his only hit of the day.
Sophomore Jarred Stuczynski (Whitinsville, Mass.) recorded the Bison’s first hit of the game in the fifth and Nichols had runners in scoring position in the sixth and seventh, but the home team didn’t get on the board until they were trailing by four in the eighth.
Junior George Sergi (Blackstone, Mass.) drew a walk to load the bases and classmate Austin Martin (Cranston, R.I.) reached on the Lancers’ second error of the inning to drive in a pair of runs. That was all the Bison would manage in the frame as Slattery fanned the next two batters to get out of the inning.
Courtney retired the Lancers in order in the eighth, but in the ninth hit two batters and gave up three hits to send two more Worcester State runs across. An RBI single from Tyler McElman plated the first run, two-out, two-run single from Magnell capped the scoring. McElman finished the day 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Nichols starter Michael Sannicandro (Upton, Mass.) took the loss with one run on four hits through the first three innings. Vadala allowed three runs on two hits while fanning two, while Courtney finished out with three runs on five hits from the sixth on.
Kyle St. Thomas and Kevin Hayes each allowed one hit in one inning of relief, with St. Thomas getting tagged for the Bison’s two runs.
Nichols returns to The Commonwealth Coast Conference action on Saturday with a home doubleheader against Endicott at noon. Worcester State travels to Salem State for a MASCAC twinbill Saturday at noon.
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