MARLBOROUGH, MA: On Saturday afternoon, the Anna Maria College Baseball team hosted the Albertus Magnus College Falcons for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) doubleheader at Marlborough High School.
SENIOR DAY:
Before the first game, the AMCATS recognized their graduating senior class as part of senior day. Seref McDowell II (Wareham, MA), Misael Guzman (Worcester, MA), Jake Gagnon (Bellingham, MA), James Powers (Folsom, CA), Hunter Dunithan (Reno, NV), Brock Eskildsen (Muretta, CA), Joe Dorman (Sandwich, MA), Bob Ross (Rochester, MA), and Chris Brouwer (Northbridge, MA) were honored by coaches, teammates, family members, and fans for their time with the baseball program. Although their time with the program may be ending, they will forever be a part of the AMCAT family.
THE BASICS:
Date: Saturday, April 22, 2023
Game 1: Albertus Magnus 0, Anna Maria 7
Game 2: Albertus Magnus 3, Anna Maria 5
Records: Albertus Magnus Falcons 8-22 (2-12 GNAC) | Anna Maria AMCATS 18-16 (12-4 GNAC)
HIGHLIGHTS
Game #1
The story in the first game was starting pitcher Nick Choate (Grafton, MA) who was in complete command from the first pitch, striking out a career-high 13 en route to a complete game no-hitter. The visiting Falcons only had two runners get as far as second base all game.
The AMCATS were able to let Choate settle in with some early run support, putting up two runs in the first inning. Senior designated hitter James Powers (Folsom, CA) led off with a walk and then scored two batters later when graduate student right fielder Jarrod Marifiote (Framingham, MA) doubled into right field. Sophomore first baseman Jeremy Rosenberg (Boynton Beach, FL) was then hit by a pitch before junior second baseman Christian Villa (Concord, CA) singled into right-center field to score Marifiote.
The AMCATS were able to extend their lead to 3-0 in the third inning when graduate student shortstop Kosta Drosidis (Holden, MA) started things with a double down the left-field line. Marifiote followed with a productive out by grounding out to the first baseman and moving Drosidis to third, where he scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Rosenberg.
The fourth inning was the AMCATS' big offensive innings as they put up four runs on the scoreboard. Freshman center fielder Dominic Brown (Sturbridge, MA) started the one-out rally by being hit by a pitch. Freshman catcher Brady Aylward (Southington, CT) doubled off the center field wall and then freshman third baseman David Doherty (North Smithfield, RI) laid down a squeeze bunt just in front of the plate where Brown slid in ahead of the tag of the Falcons' catcher with the AMCATS' fourth run. Powers then followed with his team-leading seventh home run of the season scoring both Aylward and Doherty.
Game 2
In the second game, the AMCATS got another gem of a pitching performance from starting pitcher Jack Marzek (Northbridge, MA) who allowed only a single run over seven two-hit innings while striking out 11 batters.
For the second game in a row, the AMCATS gave their pitcher an early cushion scoring two runs in the bottom of the first. Powers started the inning by beating the throw from the catcher on a ball tapped in front of the plate. Drosidis then reached on a fielder's choice that eliminated Powers and moved to third on a double down the right-field line by Marifiote. Drosidis scored on a balk and Marifiote then scored on an RBI ground out to second base by Rosenberg.
The AMCATS scored single runs in the fourth, fifth, and seventh innings. Villa scored on an Aylward sacrifice fly in the fourth. Powers scored on an RBI ground out by Marifiote in the fifth and then Powers scored again on an RBI single by Marifiote in the seventh.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The AMCATS win was the 100th win for head coach Dan Briand since he took over the AMCATS before the 2018 season.
With his strike out of the first batter in the top of the fourth inning of game two, Jack Marzec became the first AMCAT pitcher to cross the 300 strike-out barrier. He is currently sitting at 305 for his career.
UP NEXT:
Anna Maria will be back in action on Saturday when they will travel to Wenham, MA to face the Gordon College Fighting Scots for a non-conference matchup at J. Tec White Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 3 PM.