Springfield, Mass. – April 11, 2014 – The Springfield College baseball team picked up an important league victory on a rainy Friday afternoon as it bested Clark University, 6-5, at Berry-Allen Field in New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play.

With the win, the Pride improve to 10-9, 4-6 in league action, while the Cougars drop to 6-17, 3-8.

Travis Lane (Canton, Conn.) earned the win for the Pride as he lasted 5.1 innings, scattering six hits and allowing three earned runs. Peter Baranski (Hamden, Conn.) picked up the save in relief, registering the final two outs to preserve the win.

Billy Peterson (Wareham, Mass.) and Brett Poulin (Atascadero, Calif.) each had two hits as the Pride needed just six hits in the contest to be victorious. Sean Smith (Broken Arrow, Okla.) and Poulin each drove in a pair of runs as well.

For Clark, Adam Chochrek (Foxboro, Mass.) had a standout day at the plate, going 4-for-4 with two runs scored. The Cougars finished the day with 12 hits, but Austin Knief (Scarsdale, N.Y.) shouldered the loss after lasting four innings and giving up five earned runs off just two hits.

The Pride opened up the scoring in the second, taking advantage of two walks and a pair of wild pitches, which would eventually allow Poulin to cross the plate on a Billy Paskowski (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) groundout. With the bases loaded in the third, Springfield tacked on a run thanks to a sacrifice fly by Smith.

Clark answered back in the fifth, putting together three runs on three hits to take their only lead of the afternoon. Chochrek got things started with an RBI double down the left field line, only to be followed up with a two-run triple down the right field line by Nicholas O’Brien (Potomac, Md.). Springfield ended the threat in the frame as Steve Starr (Lebanon, Conn.) threw out a runner at the plate to keep it a 3-2 ballgame.

In the bottom of the fifth, Springfield seized control of the game, needing just three hits to score four runs. Once again, two walks and two wild pitches put runners in scoring position, and consecutive RBI singles from Peterson and Smith put the Pride back on top. Poulin would later rip a double to right center to drive in two more runs as the Pride took the lead for good.

The Cougars took advantage of a pair of Springfield fielding errors to get one back in the sixth, and despite getting one run across in the ninth, Baranski shut the door on Clark with with the final two outs to compete the league win.

Springfield will complete its three-game series with Clark on Saturday when it travels for a doubleheader beginning at 12:00 pm.