April 25, 2021 - Springfield, Mass. - The Springfield College baseball program was toppled by Clark University in a doubleheader at Archie Allen Field on Sunday afternoon. The Cougars took the opener, 8-5, before holding off a late-comeback by the Pride for an 8-7 triumph in the second game of the twinbill.

Springfield fell to 1-5 on the season while Clark's record climbed to to 5-7.  Springfield will wrap up the regular season on Saturday, May 1 for a doubleheader with Emerson starting at 12 pm.

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Game One - Clark 8, Springfield 5

Clark manufactured the first run of the game in the top of the fourth as Chris Radovic drew a leadoff walk and stole second to get into scoring position.  Dylan Horn then drilled a two-out single to right to put the visitors on top, 1-0. In the fifth, the Cougars totaled four runs off four hits, highlighted by a run-scoring triple by Radovic to get the frame going.  Andrea Casabianca and Anthony Keefe sandwiched RBI singles around a run-scoring double from Horn to push Clark's advantage to 5-0.

The Pride answered back with four runs in the bottom of the fifth as it totaled five hits of their own.  A leadoff triple by Cadin Maynard (Waterford, Conn.) was followed by a RBI double from Jack Simonetty (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) and a run-scoring base hit from Joe Traversa (Pittsfield, Mass.).  Michael Barrett (Longmeadow, Mass.) would later lace a single to left to plate Traversa, and Conor Santoianni (Stormville, N.Y.) would cross the plate on a wild pitch as the Pride pulled within 5-4.

Clark responded with three runs in the top half of the sixth as Billy Sullivan cracked a single to center to score David Egan and Derek Lefebvre, who previously reached with a double and single, and would add a run off a Springfield miscue to regain a four-run edge.  The Pride tacked on one more run in the bottom of the sixth, on a run-scoring triple by Traversa, which plated Maynard from second. 

John Daley (Huntington, Mass.) allowed five hits over the first 3 2/3 innings to suffer the setback on the mound for the Pride, while Traversa, Santoianni, and Maynard each registered two hits in Springfield's nine-hit showing.

Game Two- Clark 8, Springfield 7

Springfield's late-inning rally fell short in the second game of the afternoon as the Cougars completed the sweep.  Noah Bleakley (Granby, Mass.) had a strong day at the plate, going 3-for-4, while Jack Cooney (Pittsfield, Mass.) and Noah Diamond (Glastonbury, Conn.) each accounted for a pair of the Pride's nine hits. Starter Michael White (Granby, Mass.) was charged the loss after surrendering four hits over 2 2/3 frames on the mound for Springfield.

For Clark, Connor Rulnick totaled three of the visitors eight hits, and Maxwell Gitlin allowed two hits and struck out six in four innings of work. Andrew Keefe came on to record the final out to earn his the save for the Cougars.

The teams each scored a run in the first inning, with Andrew McCarty (Meriden, Conn.) crossing home plate on a wild pitch after previously reaching on a Clark error. The visitors opened up a 3-1 edge in the third, thanks to run scoring at-bats from Rulnick and Billy Sullivan, only to have Bleakley crack a double in the fifth to score Joe Penkala (Warren, R.I.) to make it a one-run contest.  

Rulnick led off the sixth with a double to kick-start a five-run inning, highlighted by a two-run homer from Dan Lefebvre, as the Cougars lead ballooned to 8-2.  However, the Pride showed plenty of resolve in the bottom half, plating four runs as Penkala came through with a two-run double and McCarty added a sacrifice fly to make it an 8-6 game.  In the bottom of the seventh, Cooney roped a two-out single to score Jack Simonetty to pull the Pride within one, but Keefe was able to get the final out as the Pride stranded the tying and go-ahead runners on base.