Lasell Baseball drops two games at Guilford

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Lasell College baseball team suffered a pair of losses at Guilford College Thursday afternoon, falling by scores of 5-4 and 12-5 at McBane Stadium.

Lasell scored a tying run in the top of the sixth inning in the see-saw first game, but Guilford came back with the eventual winning run in the bottom of the sixth. The Lasers loaded the bases in the top of the seventh but could not push across the tying and go-ahead runs. Lasell led the nightcap 5-2 after four innings, but a nine-run outburst in the Guilford fifth inning proved to be the difference.

Guilford improves to 9-6-1 on the season while Lasell is winless after five games.

Lasell scored one run in the first inning and two runs in the second inning of the opener to take a 3-2 lead. Junior Andre Marchesseault (Cheshire, Conn.) singled in a run in the first inning, and the second inning rally included an RBI double by senior Jesse Tejero (West Haven, Conn.) and an RBI single by junior David Marsell (Baldwinsville, N.Y.)

Guilford pulled ahead 4-3 with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, but Lasell answered with a tying run in the sixth as junior Brett Sherron (Howard Beach, N.Y.) doubled and pinch-runner Mario Kiaunis (West Haven, Conn.) scored on a double by freshman Sean Doris (Lincoln, R.I.) Trevor Denton delivered the game-winning blow for Guilford in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI double.

Tejero, Marsell and Marchesseault each had two hits for Lasell. Freshman Patrick Madden (Mashpee, Mass.) started for the Lasers and allowed four runs in 4.2 innings, striking out one, and juniors Justin Webb (San Diego, Calif.) and Brian Cohen (Rockland, Mass.) each had short stints of relief with Webb suffering the loss (0-1).

Lasell took a 4-0 lead in the nightcap with three runs in the second inning, aided by three Guilford errors, and one in the third. Freshman Jimmy Griffin (Worcester, Mass.) had an RBI single in the second-inning rally and sophomore Grant Duford (Simsbury, Conn.) knocked in a run with a squeeze bunt in the third.

After Guilford came back with two in the bottom of the third to cut the margin in half, Lasell tacked on one more run on a sacrifice fly by freshman Wyatt Sihvonen (Lebanon, Conn.) It was all Guilford the rest of the way, as the Quakers plated nine in the fifth inning. Josh Shepherd cracked a two-run home to ignite the rally, Michael Pinkston and Brett Shapcott drew bases-loaded walks, Giavanni Garcia had an RBI infield hit, and four runs came home on wild pitches.

Sherron finished with three hits for Lasell, while Marsell and sophomore Luke Scholand (Albuquerque, N.M.) had two hits each and Duford drove in two.

The Lasers will finish up their trip with a doubleheader Saturday at the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, beginning at noon.

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