Baseball Runs Conference Win Streak to Four

DUDLEY, Mass. – Senior Jon Spitz (Hanover, Mass.) and junior Joe Hulme (Tewksbury, Mass.) each had four hits while Hulme also drove in three runs to help pace the Wentworth Institute of Technology baseball team to a Commonwealth Coast Conference doubleheader sweep of Nichols. The Leopards took the first game, 8-5, before completing the sweep with an 8-2 win in the nightcap.

Wentworth struck for two runs in the opening frame of game one as Hulme had an RBI single and freshman Jordan Burst (Jackson, N.J.) brought home the second run with an RBI groundout. The Leopards tacked on four unearned runs in the third to move in front 6-0, an inning which was highlighted by a two-run double off the bat of junior Scott Ouellette (Lewiston, Maine).

Nichols got two back in its half of the third on an RBI groundout from Poll and a run-scoring double from junior Evan Thompson (Longmeadow, Mass.). The Leopards added single runs in the fourth and fifth before Nichols scored once in the fifth and again in the sixth to make it an 8-4 game. Thompson's home run to right field in the fifth made it 8-3 while junior Brett Franciosi's (Leominster, Mass.) RBI double in the sixth plated sophomore Benjamin Harrow (North Reading, Mass.).

The Bison got a run in the seventh and soon loaded the bases for Sylvester, who went down looking to end the game. Senior Ben Lewis (Middletown, R.I.) went the distance en route to his second win of the season (2-3). He allowed eight hits and five runs with three walks and seven strikeouts. Sophomore Ryan McLane (Wallingford, Conn.) was tagged for nine hits and eight runs (four earned) over four innings. He walked one and fanned two to fall to 1-3.

At the plate for the Leopards, Spitz and Hulme were each 3-for-4. Hulme, Burst, and Ouellette each drove in a pair of runs.

Harrow opened the scoring in the nightcap with an RBI single that plated Thompson in the bottom of the first. Wentworth scored two in the third on an RBI groundout from junior Anthony Matera (Trumbull, Conn.) and an RBI single up the middle from junior Jake Mailman (Medway, Mass.) to grab a 2-1 lead.

Nichols committed four errors in the fourth, which allowed the Leopards to put up four runs and take a 6-1 lead. Two runs scored on a throwing error before Hulme's RBI single brought in the third run of the frame. Spitz capped the scoring in the frame when he came around from third on another fielding error.

Sylvester singled to center and plated senior Shayne McNally (Auburn, Mass.) in the bottom of the frame to bring Nichols to within four at 6-2. Wentworth added one in the fifth and one in the seventh to close the scoring.

Freshman Aaron Denis (Dover, N.H.) tossed a complete-game seven-hitter to pick up his fourth win of the season (4-2). He allowed two earned runs, walked two and struck out one. Junior Collin Geagan (Watertown, Mass.) allowed eight hits and seven runs (three earned) with two walks and four strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work for Nichols.

All nine players in Wentworth's lineup had a hit while Spitz, Burst, and freshman Christian Ferri (Bloomfield, N.J.) scored two runs each.

Wentworth (13-12, 6-6 CCC) looks to extend its four-game conference winning streak when it plays host to Western New England in a CCC doubleheader to be played at Gordon College. Nichols (3-19, 2-6) hosts Eastern Nazarene in a CCC twinbill on Monday.

(Portions of this recap courtesy of Nichols Sports Information)