WORCESTER, Mass. – The Worcester State University Lancers came up with a 16-9 victory over crosstown rivals, Clark University in non-league baseball action at the renovated Granger Baseball Diamond on a sunny but brisk Sunday afternoon.
The meeting, which was confirmed in the middle of last week because of the unseasonable warm temperatures as of late, is the first between the two teams located less than three miles apart since a 10-1 Worcester State victory back on March 23, 2001.
Today's matchup saw the Lancers jump on Clark starter Conor Walsh (Marstons Mills, Mass.) in the first inning, pushing four runs across highlighted by a Mike Powers (Weymouth, Mass.), two-out, three-run double.
After his rocky first frame, Walsh settled down and worked a pair of excellent innings, retiring six batters in succession, including two by way of the strikeout.
Clark got on the board for the first time in 2016 when, with two outs in the third, Teddy Downing (Cambridge, Mass.) crushed a Zach Zona (Auburn, Mass.) offering to deep left centerfield for a two out triple. He then came around to score on a base hit by Kyle Bonicki (Waterbury, Conn.).
Worcester State answered back immediately in the fourth when Josh Creamer (Worcester, Mass.) delivered an RBI triple off of reliever Patrick Robinson (Watertown, Conn.) and then came home on a wild pitch.
Now ahead 6-1 in the top of the fifth, the Lancers sent 12 batters to the plate and increased their advantage to 13-1 as George Bielizna (Danbury, Conn.) had a two-run double and Creamer added a two-run single.
The Cougars got four back in the bottom of the frame with one coming on an RBI triple by Bonicki and another on an Eglow run scoring single.
Worcester State tacked on three more in the seventh off of reliever Joe Gouveia (Nashua, N.H.), including another two-run single from the freshman Bielizna.
Clark put four more runs on the board in the bottom of the eighth beginning with Eglow's leadoff double to left. He eventually came around to score on Downing's two-run single. Bonicki and David Eschen (New York, N.Y.) each had RBI singles in the inning to put a cap on the scoring for both teams.
The Lancers used nine different pitchers, beginning with Tyler Barrie (Oxford, Mass.) who tossed the first inning and yielded just a one out walk.
Amazingly, the Scarlet and White outhit the Lancers, 15-14, but the Cougars left nine runners on base.
Bielizna was 2-for-6 at the plate for Worcester State with a game-high four RBI, while both Creamer and Powers had two hits and three RBI.
In addition to Eglow's five-hit outing, Clark's 1-2 hitters – Downing and Bonicki – went a combined 6-for-9 with six RBI.
Both teams are now off until Saturday, March 5 with Worcester State heading to SUNY-Purchase for a twinbill, while the Scarlet and White face Capital College in their first game at the RussMatt Invitational in Auburndale, Fla.
Release Courtesy of Clark Sports Information