March 24, 2009
Box Score
WORCESTER, MA - Sophomore catcher Kevin Kopec (Katonah, NY) went 3-5 and was one of four players to knock in two runs to lead the Clark University baseball team to a 10-6 victory over visiting University of Massachusetts Boston today at Granger Field in Worcester, MA. The Beacons fall to 2-11 on the season, while the Cougars improve to 7-10.
UMass Boston scored twice in the top of the first inning when freshman center fielder Mark McCormack (Shelton, CT) drew a leadoff walk, stole second and later scored on a two-out single by sophomore catcher Tim Fontaine (Worcester, MA) to take a 1-0 edge. Junior left fielder Drew Tambling (Sterling, MA) was hit by a pitch and sophomore third baseman Dan Noonan (Westport, MA) worked a walk to load the bases to set up a run-scoring base on balls by sophomore first baseman Connor Reinfurt (Manchester, NH). Clark got a run back in its half of the inning when junior right fielder Philip DiMarco (Bellingham, MA) reached on a two-out error and came around to score on a single off the bat of freshman designated hitter Mitchell DeLorenzo (Berlin, CT) to cut the deficit in half. The Cougars took the lead for good with three runs in the second inning when sophomore third baseman Brendan Solecki (Portsmouth, RI) reached with one out after being hit by a pitch and moved to third when freshman shortstop Jeremy Gerber (Amherst, MA) cracked a double to put both runners in scoring position to set up a two-run triple by sophomore second baseman Peter Lewis (Gardiner, ME) to give the home team a 3-2 margin. Lewis sprinted home on a sacrifice fly by sophomore left fielder Scott Hollingsworth (Tilton, NH) for a 4-2 lead.
Clark added another run in the third thanks to a lead-off double by DeLorenzo and a two-out triple by senior first baseman Matthew Tillo (Osterville, MA) to increase the lead to 5-2. The Beacons closed to within 5-4 with a pair of runs in the fourth following a leadoff walk by Reinfurt and a single by sophomore shortstop Anibal Mendez (Lawrence, MA) to put runners on the corners with no outs. Senior right fielder Ryan Oshima (La Jolla, CA) plated Reinfurt with a sacrifice fly to center field and senior designated hitter Eric Salvador (Middleboro, MA) later knocked in Mendez with a single.
The Cougars got a run back in the bottom of the inning when Gerber worked a walk to open the frame, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a Hollingsworth single to take a 6-4 lead. The teams traded runs in the seventh to set the score at 7-5. UMass Boston struck first with two outs in the inning, getting a single by Tambling, who then stole second and came around to score on a triple to center field by Noonan to cut the deficit to 6-5. Clark answered with a leadoff double from Kopec, who moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and later trotted home on a triple to center off the bat of freshman pinch-hitter Nicholas Kellogg (Florence, MA). The Beacons pulled to within 7-6 in the eighth when Oshima drew a one-out walk and McCormack followed with a single to put Oshima on second. Sophomore second baseman Ryan Walsh (Newton, MA) came through for UMB with a double down the left field line to score the run, but it was all the visitors would get. The Cougars scored three insurance runs in their half of the inning when Hollingsworth and DiMarco were issued free passes with one out and Kopec singled to drive in one run. Junior center fielder Stephen DeMartino (East Haven, CT) tripled to right field to bring home Clark's final two runs of the afternoon for a 10-6 final.
Lewis finished the day going 2-4 with one of four triples on the afternoon for the Cougars and knocked in a pair of runs, while scoring once and Hollingsworth was 1-2 with two walks and a pair of RBI. DiMarco and DeLorenzo each collected two hits for the home team as well. Noonan smacked a double and a triple and added a run batted in to lead UMass Boston, while Fontaine collected a pair of singles, scored a run and drove in one. McCormack also contributed with two hits, a run scored and a stolen base.
Freshman Nickolas Winchell (Scituate, RI) earned the victory for Clark, going five innings and allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and four walks, while striking out three. Sophomore lefty Andrew Lebrun (Stoneham, MA) suffered the loss for the Beacons, yielding six runs (five earned) on 10 hits and two walks to go with a season-high eight strikeouts in five and two-thirds innings.
UMass Boston will be in action again tomorrow when it travels to East Providence, RI to take on Johnson & Wales University at 3:00 p.m., while the Cougars host Framingham State College on Thursday, March 26 at 3:00 p.m.
