MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College baseball team struggled to get the offense going in a pitchers' duel Wednesday afternoon, dropping a 4-0 decision to the Lasers of Lasell College. With the win, Lasell moves to 10-7 on the year, while the Colonels stumble to 5-8-1.

The teams put up a combined five hits over three scoreless frames to open the contest, before the first run of the game crossed the plate in the fourth. Chris Maringo (Farmingville, N.Y.) and Andre Marchesseault (Cheshire, Conn.) hit back-to-back singles to lead off the top of the fourth, moving safely to second and third on the throw. A batter later, a deep fly to right off the bat of Brett Sherron (Howard Beach, N.Y.) scored Maringo and put Lasell on top 1-0. The Colonels threatened in the bottom of the fifth, as Michael Strizzi (Williamstown, Mass.) started the frame with a hard shot to the left-center field gap that landed him on second, but he would be stranded there after a line out, a strikeout, and a grounder that let the Lasers escape the jam. An inning later, Jason Leonard (Dedham, Mass.) laced a two-out double into right, but was also left in scoring position. Heading into the eighth, Lasell retained their 1-0 lead, but a pair of hits and as many runs in the inning padded their advantage. Joe Sullivan (Sandwich, Mass.) got the ball rolling with a leadoff triple, before a Zach Herring (Fresno, Calif.) single drove him home. Following a walk and a sacrifice bunt, Matt Bischof (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.) collected the second sac fly of the day to go along with an RBI. With a 3-0 lead, Lasell starter Chris O'Connor (Duxbury, Mass.) marched out for his eighth inning of work and got the shutdown inning he was looking for, inducing a double play and a K to close the frame. The Lasers collected another insurance run in the ninth as Sullivan grabbed another RBI on a double, making the score 4-0. With three outs left to work with, Curry benefitted from a pitching change, as a walk and a double put two runners quickly into scoring position. The rally was soon squashed, however, as a 3-2 double play took out the lead runner and the batter before a foul out wrapped up the tilt.

Leonard posted the only multi-hit day with a 2-for-3 day at the plate, while Sullivan and Maringo also poured in 2-for-3 efforts. Jack Needham (Raynham, Mass.) starts the year 0-1 after giving up just a single run over four innings of work. The freshman struck out four batters in the losing effort to lead all pitchers. O'Connor dominated the Curry bats all afternoon, allowing just six hits over eight shutout innings to pick up his first victory of the year (1-1).

Curry will get right back to work tomorrow, as they stay home to take on the Babson College Beavers at 3:30 p.m. on the Jack Vallely Diamond. Lasell stays off until the weekend but will resume action at home, with a double header against conference foe Anna Maria. The two Great Northeast Athletic Conference opponents will get underway at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 30.

For the latest on Curry Athletics, follow the Colonels via social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.