Worcester, Mass. - Host Clark University
snapped its season-long three-game losing streak with a pair of
non-conference wins over crosstown rival Worcester State on Tuesday
afternoon at O'Brien Field.
The Cougars took game one by a score of 3-2 and then followed that
up with a decisive 7-0 win in the nightcap to improve to 18-6
overall while the Lancers slip back to .500 at 8-8.
Clark jumped out to a 2-0 lead after getting single runs in the
first and second off of Worcester State starter Michealla
Mahoney.
The Lancers evened the game with one swing of the bat in the top of
the third as Erica Cordio crushed a two-run blast off of Cougar
hurler Sarah Carter (Worcester, Mass.).
Worcester State looked to be poised to take the lead in the fifth
when they led off the inning with a single and double by Lauren
Besozzi and Cordio respectively. Besozzi, however, was thrown out
at third by Meghan Lennon (Charlton, Mass.) for
the inning's first out. Carter then settled down and got the final
two outs to get out of the inning unscathed.
Clark collected the walk-off win with help from the Lancers in the
bottom of the seventh. With one out in the frame Lauren Blake (Oakland, Maine) and Mel Melkonian
(Worcester, Mass.) registered back-to-back singles. Cleanup hitter
Darcey Kurashige-Elliott (Berkeley, Calif.) then
hit a ball to short that Cordio wasn't able to handle, allowing the
game-winning run to score.
Carter, who went the distance for the sixth time this season,
picked up the win to improve to 10-1.
Joanna Clark (Windham, Maine) had two hits for the
Cougars, while Cordio paced the Lancer offense with a 2-for-4
showing, including a double and a homerun.
Game two saw the Cougars plate six runs in the second inning and
get excellent starting pitching from freshman Nicole Meuse (Hudson, Mass.) en route to the shutout win.
Erin Murphy (Boxboro, Mass.) provided the biggest
blow in the six-run second when she smacked a three-run homer,
giving Clark an early edge. The inning also included a two-run
double by Melissa Traft (Milton, Mass.) and a RBI
double from Kurashige-Elliott.
Working with the lead, Meuse moved through the Lancer hitters
quickly, yielding just five hits and one walk in six innings of
work.
Clark's other run came in the bottom of the sixth on a Traft RBI
single.
Freshman Kelly Schroder (Auburn, Mass.) tossed a
1-2-3 seventh inning to seal the shutout.
Jaime Jacobs and Mahoney each had two hits for Worcester State,
while Clark was paced offensively by Traft who was 2-for-3 with
three RBI. The Cougars 1-2-3-4 hitters (Blake, Melkonian, Traft and
Kurashige-Elliott) were a combined 8-for-15 in game two.
Clark returns to the diamond on Friday when they continue their
stretch of games against Worcester foes with a 3 p.m. start against
WPI, while the Lancers travel to Western Connecticut on
Thursday.
