SALEM, Mass. – Senior Stephen Keskinidis (Stoneham, Mass.) fired a no-hitter against the Fitchburg State Falcons in a dominating performance on Friday afternoon. Keskinidis, struck out five and walked three to lead the Vikings to a 1-0 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory in game one of the Vikings' scheduled doubleheader. Keskinidis is the first Vikings' pitcher to record a no-hitter since Mike Richardson shutout Framingham State 1-0 in 2015.
The Falcons salvaged a split on the day, exploding for 14 runs in game two on 13 hits as Tommy Parsons (Peabody, Mass.) improved to 4-0, tossing five shutout innings while allowing only three hits. Vincent Eramo (Shirley, Mass.) added a three-run home run in the win.
Fitchburg State is now 20-10 on the season and 10-5 in the MASCAC. Salem State goes to 13-15 and 7-8 in the conference.
|
| Stephen Keskinidis' no-hitter was the first for SSU since Mike Richardson shutout Framingham State 1-0 in 2015. Salem State athletics photo |
Game 1
Mike Griffin (Hudson, N.H.) provided the only run of the game with an RBI double that scored Brendan Greene (Winchester, Mass.) with the eventual game-winner.
Falcons' starter Ryan Towle (Westfield, Mass.) was impressive as well, limiting the Vikings to just three hits after working out of a bases loaded jam in the first after walking three of the first four batters of the game.
Fitchburg State threatened in the sixth after a walk and error put runners on first and second with no outs However, Keskinidis induced a double play ball and with a runner on third, recorded the final out as Noah Milliard (Leominster, Mass.) groundout out to third.
An error and stolen base in the seventh gave Fitchburgh State life with one out, following a strikeout, Brennan Cuddahy (Leominster, Mass.) laced a ball into left field, but left fielder Tim Catalano (Brewster, N.Y.) was positioned perfectly to record the final out, preserving the no-hitter.
Game 2
Salem State's Brock Riley (Lowell, Mass.) and Fitchburg State's Parsons) engaged in another pitcher's duel to open the second game. Neither pitcher allowed a hit until Traverse Briana (Lynn, Mass.) singled with two outs in the third.
Milliard recorded Fitchburg State's first hit of the afternoon in the fourth. Following a hit batter Joshua Macomber (Berkley, Mass.) plated two runs with a single to left. A walk, brought in Matthew Enos (Beverly, Mass.) to pitch for the Vikings, who allowed an RBI groundout to Matthew Pingitore (Rutland, Mass.), giving the Falcons a 3-0 lead. A two-run error off the bat of Cuddahy made the score 5-0.
Riley allowed three runs on two hits with three strikeouts and three walks on the afternoon.
Fitchburg State broke open the game in the sixth, scoring 10 runs on nine hits as Salem State used three pitchers in the inning. Pingitore doubled home the first two runs with a shot into the left centerfield gap. Brandon Lefebvre (Leominster, Mass.) followed with another two-run double and the Falcons suddenly led 9-0. Nicholas Cordeau's (Melrose, Mass.) RBI single was the sixth straight hit of the inning for Fitchburg State. Following an RBI groundout, Vincent Eramo (Shirley, Mass.) cleared the bases with his second home run of the season, giving the Falcons a 14-0 lead.
Parsons struck out three, but was effective despite allowing 10 walks.
Eramo and Macomber went a combined 4-for-6 with five runs scored and five RBI for Fitchburg State.