Baseball Splits NAC Doubleheader With Thomas
BASEBALL SPLITS NAC BASEBALL DOUBLEHEADER
HOLYOKE, MA, April 27, 2008 - Elms College junior right fielder Nick Mackowiak (Dudley, MA) went a combined 4 for 6 with two doubles and four RBI, and freshman pitcher Nick Cordeiro (Berkley, MA) threw six solid innings in game two to help the Blazers earn a split of a North Atlantic Conference (NAC) baseball doubleheader against Thomas College on Sunday afternoon at MacKenzie Stadium.
Thomas won game one 8-2, but Elms College salvaged a split with a 12-6 victory in the nightcap.
With its split, Elms College improved to 12-18 overall, while Thomas moved to 11-16.
Both teams tied for second in the final regular season conference standings at 6-4, but the Blazers earned the tiebreaker over the Terriers for the No. 2 seed in next weekend's NAC Tournament via its sweep over No. 4 Husson (14-21) during the regular season.
Following the Terriers' victory in game one, the Blazers responded in convincing fashion in the nightcap, as they plated four runs in the first, one in the second, two in the third, and three in the fourth to blow the game open.
After Thomas plated a run in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead, the Blazers responded in the home half of the inning, as junior third baseman Mike Andrews (Greenfield, MA) belted a two-run single to center field and Mackowiak followed with a two-run double to give the Blazers a quick 4-1 lead.
In the second, freshman second baseman Mike Bedson (Moriches, NY) sent a RBI single through the left side to run Elms College's lead to 5-1.
An unearned run and a RBI single down the left field line by senior center fielder Joe Ferry (Palmer, MA) gave the Blazers the lead for good at 7-1.
Elms College then delivered the knockout blow with its three-run, fourth, highlighted by sacrifice flyouts by Mackowiak and senior first baseman Scott Netkovick (South Hadley, MA), and a RBI double down the left field line by freshman shortstop Brendan Cordeiro (Berkley, MA).
Nick Cordeiro was outstanding, as he yielded just two earned runs and struck out five in 6.0 innings of work en route to his collegiate victory.
In the first game, sophomore third baseman Tom Desjardins (Fort Kent, ME) and sophomore catcher Nick Cloutier (Topsham, ME) each delivered a RBI single in the first inning to give the Terriers a quick 2-0 lead.
The Blazers answered in the home half of the first when freshman second baseman Hector Roche (San Cristobal, Dominican Republic) drew a bases-loaded walk to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Junior shortstop Jared Fieldsend (Somersworth, NH) extended the Thomas lead to 3-1 with a RBI groundout in the third.
The Terriers then put the game out of reach with a three-run, third inning that included a two-run triple by junior right fielder Sam Shain (Hallowell, ME) and a RBI sacrifice fly by freshman first baseman Josh Nickerson (Stockton Springs, ME).
Freshman pitcher Tony MacMillan (Gorham, ME) allowed just two earned runs on six hits and struck out eight in 6.0 innings of work to earn the victory.