Baseball Extends Win Streak to Five With Sweep Over MCLA, 8-0 and 6-3

THE BASICS 

Score: 
GM 1 – Salem State University 8, vs. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), 0 (7 inn.)
GM 2 – Salem State University 6, vs. MCLA, 3 (7 inn.)

Records: 
Salem State Vikings (18-14, 14-7 MASCAC)

MCLA Trailblazers (8-26, 2-19 MASCAC)

Location: Salem, Mass. - Central Campus Field

Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2026

THE LEAD – The Salem State baseball team extended its win streak to five games with a sweep over MCLA by the scores of 8-0 and 6-3 Tuesday afternoon. 

HOW IT HAPPENED (GM 1)

• Salem struck first in the opening frame when Nolan Currier (Maynard, Mass.) ripped a two-run RBI double to right that gave the Vikes an early 2-0 lead. Later, after tacking on another run in the second, Salem added two more runs to its lead thanks to RBIs from Owen Duggan (Billerica, Mass.) and Jack Doyle (Salem, Mass.) to make it 5-0.
• In the fourth, the Vikings had their highest scoring inning after driving in three runs, highlighted by a Duggan RBI single that made it 8-0 at the time. 
• Throughout the day, Salem starter Ethan Hill (Stratford, Conn.) was lights out as the first-year starter did not allow more than one base runner in any inning up until the seventh. In the final frame, MCLA had runners on first and second with no outs courtesy of back-to-back singles from Benjamin Jacob and Joe Sardo. However, Hill escaped the jam by retiring the next three batters, with two of the outs coming via strikeouts for the 8-0 win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (GM 1)

• Duggan and Currier both led the Salem offense with two RBIs apiece in game one.
• Hill earned the win after tossing the second complete game of his career while allowing just five hits, no runs, and tying his career-high in strikeouts with six.
• Chris Vargas and Joe Sardo led MCLA with two hits each.
• Mason Barcomb ended up with the loss after going 6.0 IP while giving up 13 hits, eight runs (four earned), and striking out four.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GM 2)

• MCLA struck first in the second game thanks to an RBI single from Camden Zerbato to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead. However, later in the fifth after Salem tied the game at one in the previous inning, the Vikings grabbed their first lead of the day thanks to a Duggan sacrifice fly that made it 2-1.
• The Vikes continued their momentum heading into the sixth when the squad plated three runs for its largest lead of the day (6-1). In the high-scoring inning, three different Salem hitters recorded an RBI (Aidan Lynch (North Andover, Mass.), Antonio Belgrove (Stamford, Conn.), and Yabdriel Gonzalez (New Haven, Conn.)). 
• Despite the large deficit, the Trailblazers would not go quietly. After back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, Joshua Bissallion drove in a run with an RBI single that made it 6-2. Later in the frame, with bases loaded, MCLA struck again with an RBI from Zerbato that cut Salem's lead in half (6-3). Even with the late momentum, Vikings pitcher Brandon McMahon (Malden, Mass.) ended the threat by forcing a double play to earn the 6-3 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (GM 2)

• Six different Vikings finished with an RBI in game two (Belgrove, Gonzalez, Ethan Stepputtis (Prospect, Conn.), Lucas Rincon (Revere, Mass.), and Lynch).
• Jackson Beehr (Walpole, Mass.) earned the no-decision in the start. The first-year pitcher went just 2.0 IP while allowing three hits and one run.
• Nick Krompegal (Bristol, Conn.) ended up with the win after going four solid innings while giving up two hits, no runs, and tying his season-high in strikeouts (eight).
• Zerbato led the MCLA offense with two RBIs in game two.
• Caleb Welcome took the loss after going 5.1 IP and allowing eight hits, five runs (three earned), and striking out three.
• Salem has now won six Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) series this season, with two being sweeps.
• The Vikings have now won the last 15 games against the Trailblazers.
• The Blue and Orange's five-game winning streak is the longest since 2023, when the squad won seven in a row.

UP NEXT 

Salem wraps up its regular season with a three-game MASCAC series at Westfield State on Friday, May 1 at 3:30 p.m.