Henniker, N.H. - The Nichols College baseball team earned its first sweep of the season at New England College on Wednesday, earning a pair of 4-2 victories.  The wins improve the Bison to 6-20 overall and 4-10 in The Commonwealth Coast Conference, while the losses drops the Pilgrims to 5-19 overall and 1-13 in the conference.

In game one the Pilgrims would score first as Jimmy Hoyt (Rochester, N.H.) would open the inning with a single and come around to score on a Bison error giving NEC the early 1-0 lead.  Nichols College would respond in the sixth inning as the Bison would string together four singles and score three runs to take the 3-1 lead.  The Pilgrims would get a run back in the bottom of the sixth but the Bison would tack on an insurance run in the seventh going on to capture the 4-2 victory.

Leading the way for Nichols was Cale LaCasse (Killingly, Conn.) who was three-for-four with a run scored and a run batted in.  Nichols' Matthew Whitman (N. Plainfield, N.J.) singled three times and Austin Martin (Wakefield, R.I.) singled twice for the Bison.  Picking up the win on the mound for Nichols was Christopher Nemeskal (Swampscott, Mass.) who pitched the complete game allowing no earned runs on six hits.

Six different players had a hit for NEC including P.J. Crowley (Pawcatuck, Conn.) who doubled for the Pilgrims.

In game two the Bison would get on the board first scoring a run in the second inning and tacking on two more in the third to take the 3-0 lead.  NEC would answer with three runs of their own on a couple Bison errors tying the game at 3-3 heading into the fourth.  Neither team would be able to muster a run in the late innings until Nichols would load the bases in the top of the seventh. The Bison would take advantage of a late Pilgrim error as Parker Riley (Allentown, Pa.) would score with two outs to give Nichols the 4-3 advantage heading into the home half of the seventh.  The Pilgrims would get a runner on in the bottom of the seventh but Nichols defense would stand strong late catching a Pilgrim stealing to end the inning and edge NEC 4-3.

Leading the way for Nichols was Alexander Montalto (Wilmington, Mass.) who finished with two hits and a run batted in.  Nichols' Robert Birkbeck (Worcester, Mass.) singled and had a run scored for the Bision.  Picking up the win on the mound was Timothy Smith (Planfield, Conn.) who pitched three innings did not allow a run.

Leading the way for NEC was Joe Clark (Newcastle, Maine) who finished with two hits, including a double a run scored and a run batted in. 

Release courtesy of New England College Sports Information