MYRTLE BEACH – In a battle between Rams, featuring Suffolk baseball and Framingham State, the team from Boston came out on top, 12-8, Thursday at Polo Grounds at the Ripken Experience.

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 12 | Framingham State 8
RECORDS: Suffolk (5-3) | Framingham State (1-7)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk got on the board in the away half of the top innings Joe Ward smacked a three-run jack. Garret Roberts drew a walk to lead things off and Christian Seariac followed suit with a base hit to center field to set up the sophomores three RBI dinger to center.  

Framingham State got two runs back in the home half of the second to trim the gap down to one. The 3-2 game did not last long as Suffolk rebuilt a multi-run margin in the top of the fourth.  

Shane Lake knocked a double down the left field line to get things going and Jonny Gilbride walked to put two runners on the bags. Roberts laid down a bunt to move senior and sophomore over and the pair coasted in thanks to Seariac's single up the middle. One out later, Marc Birbiglia mirrored Seariac's single up the middle with one of his own to plate the graduate student. Harry Painter kept the base hit rally going with one to third that pushed Birbiglia to the hot corner. The blue-and-gold capitalized on the first and third situation. Painter swiped second, FSU threw down to catch up stealing, instead Birbiglia strutted in to turn it into a 7-2 score in the middle of the third.  

A Framingham response came in the bottom of the inning in the form of one run. Suffolk quickly got that back in the top of the fifth, when Blase Cormier scored courtesy of Gilbride's single up the middle. Cormier's single led the inning off. The first baseman worked his way into scoring position on Lake's ground out to the pitch and a wild pitch.  

The back-and-forth affair continued over the next two half innings as Framingham State scored twice and the Boston Rams responded with three to push the advantage to 11-5. With the bases juiced and a new wing on the mound as Teaghin Andre came in for Aldan Abernathy, Cormier cleared the bags with a deep double to right field to push Suffolk ahead by six.  

A scoring lull came until the top of the eighth when Painter's solo blast, his second longball of the trip, bumped Suffolk's lead to seven, 12-5. 

Nick Reiser, who took over for Shawn Nosky in the sixth, kept Framingham State's bats quiet in the eighth. The same can't be said for the bottom of the ninth, however, as FSU mixed up the order with multiple pinch hitters and tacked on three runs to pull within five. 

With runners on first and third, Reiser figured things out, got a ground ball for a force out at second and sat down Chris Iannetta looking for the final out of the day. 

PITCHERS PICTURE

• The starting pitchers for each team, Shawn Nosky for Suffolk, and Scott Nosky for Framingham State are brothers. 
• Shawn Nosky picked up the victory behind a five-run, six-hit, four-walk, six-strikeout outing in 5.0 innings of work. 
• His brother Scott, meanwhile, suffered the setback after allowing seven runs on seven hits and three walks with a pair of Ks in 4.0 frames of action. 
• Reiser recorded the save with a three-run, six-hit, one-walk, three-punch out performance in 4.0 innings of action. 
• Abernathy (1.1 IP, 4 R, 2 H, 3 BB, 1 K), Andre (1.0 IP, 2H, 1 K), Ryan Morry (1.2 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 2 Ks) and Kyle Pucci (1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K) all came out of the pen for FSU.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Cormier contributed three RBI on two hits including one double to go along with one run scored. 
• Seariac went 3-for-5 at the dish with two RBI, one run scored and one stolen base. 
• Painter provided two hits, including a bomb, two runs, one RBI, one stolen base and a walk. 
• Gilbride put together a 2-for-3 effort with one RBI, one run scored and one stolen base.
• Birbiglia swiped four bags, scored twice, brought in one run, one RBI and one walk.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk and Framingham State met for the first time since tangling in the ECAC Division III Quarterfinals May 12, 2010. 
• The Boston Rams defeated FSU for the first time since 2002. 
• Suffolk improved to 21-15 all-time against Framingham State. 
• Nosky made his first start of the season, third of his collegiate career, first since April 21, 2021 at Curry.
• Nosky, who matched a personal-best 5.0 frames of action, saw the most batters in his career (26) and struck out a career-high six hitters. 
• Ward homered for the second time this season. 
• Painter knocked a home run for the second time in his career and second straight game. He is the first Ram to put one out of the park in back-to-back outings since Brady Chant had dingers in two consecutive contests in both battles of a doubleheader at Endicott April 30, 2017.
• Painter matched a career-high two hits and scored a personal-best two runs.
• Gilbride tied a career-best two hits. 
• Birbiglia swiped a career-high four bags.  

POST-GAME PIC
 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk concludes its time at the Ripken Experience tomorrow, Friday, March 20 when it takes on Keene State at 12 p.m., before a rematch with Mt. Aloysius at 3 p.m. Both nine-inning battles will be played at Eppets Field.