DUDLEY, Mass. – Freshmen
Nick Roy (Middletown, Conn.) and
Spencer Madden (Nashua, N.H.) each had two hits and one run scored as the Nichols College baseball team dropped the front end of a doubleheader with Gordon 9-5 in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Friday afternoon.
The teams ended Game 2 of the doubleheader tied 7-7 before the umpires decided the game should be suspended due to lighting.
Game 1 - Gordon 9, Nichols 5Senior Mark Fitzgerald (Camarillo, Calif.) took the win, improving to 3-2 on the season after throwing a complete game and allowing five runs (two earned) on eight hits while walking three and striking out three.
Freshman
StigErik McElhinney (Dracut, Mass.) was in line for his second collegiate victory after tossing six solid innings. He allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits while walking three and striking out one. The Bison (4-11, 1-6 CCC) took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the sixth with RBI singles by sophomore
Mike Piekarczyk (Dudley, Mass.) and freshman
Ross Caswell (Randolph, Vt.) before the bullpen allowed five runs (four earned) in the top of the seventh to secure the victory for the Fighting Scots.
Freshman
Nick Limoges (Easthampton, Mass.) took the loss after not registering an out and allowing two runs on two hits.
The Fighting Scots (10-12, 6-3 CCC) were led by senior Travis Pullen (Las Vegas, Nev.) who reached base in all four trips to the plate including three hits. Freshman Addison Tarr (Oxnard, Calif.) and senior Jesse Amaya (South Gate, Calif.) each drove in a pair of runs while crossing the plate once.
Nichols jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead after the first inning after an RBI-double by junior
Benjamin Harrow (North Reading, Mass.) and some sloppy defense by the Scots that led to two more runs.
Gordon answered back with a couple of runs of its own in the top of the second including an RBI-double by senior Jared Kefalas (Wenham, Mass.) and an RBI-single through the left side by junior Eric Walker (Danvers, Mass.).
Runs in the fourth and fifth innings put the Scots on top 4-3 before the Bison answered in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead back.
Game 2 - Nichols 7, Gordon 7The Bison outhit the Fighting Scots 12-4 but the teams ended the game after five innings due to lighting.
Nichols had five student-athletes with two hits in the game including freshmen
Cam Cook (Phonexville, Pa.), Madden, and
Nick Osma (Babylon, N.Y.), and sophomores
Matt Hardy (North Attleboro, Mass.) and
Tim Ford (Stafford Springs, Conn.).
Gordon was led by Fitzgerald who had an inside-the-park homerun in the first inning that scored Pullen and Smith.
Sophomore
Adam Rigney (Niantic, Conn.) pitched five innings for the Bison and allowed seven runs (two earned) on two walks and two strikeouts.
Freshman Caleb Bae (Canyon County, Calif.) started the game for the Fighting Scots and went 3.2 innings allowing five runs (none earned) on nine hits while walking one and striking out three before giving way to sophomore Matt Amore (Pequannock, N.J.). Amore pitched the final 1.1 innings and allowed two earned runs on three hits while walking three and striking out three.
The Bison travel to take on conference foe Wentworth tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. at Trinity Stadium in Haverhill, Mass. The Fighting Scots host Salve Regina at 12:00 p.m.