Emerson on Wrong Side of Slug(ly)fest

Malden, MA -- Emerson lost a sloppy game with lots of runs, errors, walks, and HBPs 14-10 to Lasell on Friday night.  The Pirates return to NEWMAC action tomorrow with a double header at the US Coast Guard Academy beginning at 11am.

Laird and Capotorto Combine for No-Hitter in Emerson’s Second NEWMAC Game

March 22, 2014 -- After losing their first ever NEWMAC game 13-1 to Clark University, the Lions’ young pitching staff turned in an unforgettable performance. Freshman Cal Laird and Sophomore Jack Capotorto combined for the first no-hitter in school history. Laird started the game and went 6.2 innings, striking out six, walking six, and hitting three batters. With two outs in the 7th, Capotorto entered the game and recorded the last seven outs, striking out two along the way.

Clark threatened in the first, as both Nicholas O’Brien and Daniel Lima worked walks to begin the game. After a double steal put runners at 2nd and 3rd with no one out, Laird settled down and struck out David Eschen for the first out of the game. He then got Clark catcher Matt Asdornvuttikrai to hit a shallow fly ball to left field where Clint Fontanella made the catch and delivered a strike to the plate where Steve Cameron applied the tag to O’Brien to end the inning.

Emerson got on the board in the 2nd beginning with a Zach Dean infield hit, on which he advanced to 2nd on an overthrow. Connor Damiano bunted him to third, and he would score moments later on a passed ball. That was all of the offense in the game until the bottom of the 8th when Clint Fontanella singled to right to begin the inning. James Sullivan sacrificed Fontanella to second and Mitch Moormann moved him to third with a groundout. After an intentional walk to Cal Ciarcia, Steve Cameron drove the first pitch he saw into left field for the RBI single.

Miles Sheehan pitched very well in defeat, throwing 8 innings, striking out 10, walking four, and allowing just five singles and one earned run.

Temps Cancel Tuesday Night Game

March 18, 2014 - Although the official start of Spring is three days away, the Winter weather seems to be unaware of the impending change in seasons. Tuesday night's scheduled game against Newbury has been cancelled, as the gametime forecast calls for temps in the low 30s with a windchill in the 20s. Emerson will (hopefully) begin their northern schedule Friday at Mass Maritime at 3:30PM.

Cal Ciarcia Records 100th Career Hit

Senior Captain Cal Ciarcia recorded his 100th career hit in the second game of a double header against Northland College on March 6, 2014. He becomes the 6th member of the Emerson Baseball 100 Hit Club joining Peter Karl, Peter Maltzan, Geoff Lopes, Ryan Garber, and current teammate and co-captain James Sullivan. He eclipsed the century mark with an RBI swinging bunt with the bases loaded and two outs. Cal was 4-4 with 5 RBI in the game and is off to a terrific start to his 2014 season, leading the team in average (.452), hits (14), RBI (9), total bases (18), and total chances in the field (49).

Fort Myers Trip Serves as Learning Experience for Emerson Pirates

The young Emerson Baseball team went 2-7 on the annual Spring trip to start the 2014 season. Although the record was not what they had hoped, 6 ball players got their first taste of college ball. The highlight of the trip was a sweep of the Northland College Lumberjacks on March 6th. Emerson won game one 8-6 behind a gutsy complete-game performance by Freshman Cal Laird in his second collegiate start. It was a true team effort, with 7 players scoring or knocking in a run, and everyone contributed in the field. The defensive highlight of the game came in the bottom of the second, when Northland shortstop Matt Lennon hit a line drive to left center field. The ball looked like a double off the bat, but centerfielder Jim Cain tracked it down to make a sliding catch, travelling a good 20 feet on the rain-soaked outfield grass. Emerson held an 8-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh, but Northland would not go down quietly. Lumberjack catcher Peter Aerts hit a two out grandslam to cut the Emerson lead to 2, but Laird dug deep and struck out Lennon to end the game.

Game two was also dramatic, as Emerson jumped out to a 7-0 lead after two innings, and brought a 10-4 lead into the sixth. Following a lead off walk, Jack Capotorto retired the next to hitters with a strikeout and a groundout. Like the first game, Northland would not roll over, stringing together three straight hits, each knocking in a run. The rally was ended when Steve Cameron threw out Jensen Doyle trying to steal second. Jack Capotorto picked up his first collegiate win in his 3.1 innings of relief work.

Emerson begins their northern schedule this Saturday with a doubleheader at Gordon College in Wenham, MA. Game one starts at noon.

Below are some pictures from the trip courtesty of Mark Moormann (www.MarkMoormann.com)






Chach driving the ball to deep left-center

 





Julian Rifkind keeping his elbow up (finally)






Sully staying balanced at the plate



Jack Capotorto delivers a strike during his first collegiate win





Mitch Moormann after applying the tag. Clint Fontanella beating the ump to the call

 



Cal Laird during his first collegiate start