Auburndale, Fla. – March 10, 2024 – The Springfield College baseball team opened action at the 2024 RussMatt Invitational with a pair of victories over Central College (Iowa) on Sunday afternoon.

Springfield improved to 4-3 on the spring, while Central dipped to 2-6 this year. Tomorrow, the Pride will take on Muhlenberg College in a doubleheader at the Lake Myrtle Complex beginning at 4:15 pm.

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Game One: Springfield 2, Central 1 (8 Innings)

Michael Barrett (Longmeadow, Mass.) paced the Springfield offense in game one as he went 2-for-4 with a home run, while Andrew Sweet (Charlton, Mass.) went 2-for-2. Joseph Traversa (Pittsfield, Mass.), Ryan Sorgi (Braintree, Mass.) and Michael Lepere (Beacon, N.Y.) all chipped in with a hit apiece for the Pride.

Connor Caverly (South Berwick, Maine) was stellar on the bump for the Pride in the opener despite getting the no decision. The senior went seven strong, scattered five hits, allowed one run and struck out nine. Max Giacco (Meriden, Conn.) came out of the pen and pitched the eighth to earn his first win of the season.

After Central stranded a runner on third in the top of the first, Springfield struck for the game's first run in the bottom of the opening frame as Barrett launched the ball over the fence in right for the early 1-0 edge. Central knotted the score at 1-1 in the top of the second after an RBI single from Jaden Kramer plated Declan O'Hare.

Caverly shutdown Central by facing the minimum from innings three through seven and saw just two runners reach base over the stretch. Both runners were erased by Sorgi who cut them down on steal attempts.

Traversa began the eighth with a single up the middle, stole second and moved to third on an infield hit before Lepere drove the ball deep enough to center to plate him for the 2-1 win on the sac fly.

Game Two: Springfield 10, Central 2

Eight of nine starters for Springfield tallied at least one hit in the nightcap as the Pride completed the sweep with a 10-2 win. Jack Dunaisky (Longmeadow, Mass.), Barrett and Lepere all posted two knocks, while Adam Crocker (Windsor, Nova Scotia) and Andrew Sweet (Charlton, Mass.) both posted two RBI. As a team, Springfield produced ten runs on 12 hits – tying a season-high in runs.

After two scoreless frames to start the game, Springfield struck for six runs on six hits and batted around in the top of the third. The rally began with an RBI triple by Ryan Delaney (Ellington, Conn.) before Barrett, Lepere, Crocker, Nate Garafalo (Kinderhook, N.Y.) and Sweet all posted RBI base knocks for the Pride in the frame as Springfield took a 6-1 lead through two and a half.

Springfield starter Blake Roberge (Warwick, R.I.) followed Caverly's lead and was dominant on the hill allowing just two runs in five innings to go along with four strikeouts. Shamus Biggs (Virginia Beach, Va.) pitched the final two innings for Springfield in his second relief outing of the spring.

An RBI double to the gap by Lepere, an RBI ground out by Crocker, a passed ball and an error added four insurance runs for the Pride in the top of the seventh en route to the 10-2 victory.