Worcester, Mass. – Clark University racked up 15 hits, including four by senior captain James Conway (Newburyport, Mass.) and the host Cougars won for the first time in the J.P. Pyne era with an 8-3 victory over Elms College in non-league baseball action on Sunday afternoon at the Granger Baseball Diamond.

The win for the Cougars evens their record at 1-1 in advance of their ten-game stretch in the greater Orlando area which begins on Saturday.

For the Blazers, meanwhile, they open up the 2016 campaign with their second straight loss to the Scarlet and White following last season's 6-5 defeat on April 28.

Elms actually looked to be in business to get on the board early when they loaded the bases with one out in the top of the first against Clark starter Conor Walsh (Marstons Mills, Mass.). Walsh, however, was able to wiggle out of trouble with the help of middle infielders Kyle Bonicki (Waterbury, Conn.) and Adam Chochrek (Foxboro, Mass.) who turned a 4-6-3 twin killing to end the inning.

Another double play turned by the Cougar defense helped Walsh get out of the second but the Clark bats were still quiet as Tom Weldon tossed two perfect innings that included a pair of strikeouts for the Blazers.

As he did in his previous start last week against Worcester State, Walsh settled down tremendously and retired six of the next seven batters he faced.

Clark broke the scoreless tie in the third when Zach Richall (Tyngsboro, Mass.) reached when he was hit by a pitch and then advanced to third when Tyler Hutchinson (Greene, Maine) smacked a double putting two runners in scoring position with one out. Both Hutchinson and Richall came home to score on a Teddy Downing (Cambridge, Mass.) fielder's choice that saw Blazer third baseman Tim Gelzinis' throw home sail high and wide allowing both runs to score.

Ahead 2-0, the Cougars tacked on a single run in the fourth when singles from Michael Eglow (Delmar, N.Y.) and Conway put runners on the corners and Richall brought Eglow in with a single to center.

Clark was at it again in the fifth, going ahead 4-0 when Bonicki hustled down the line to get an infield hit, then stole second and came around to score on Conway's single to left.

Elms threatened again in the sixth when reliever Mike Tice (Chelmsford, Mass.) allowed a one out single to Jordan Zima. Stephen Harrison doubled to left center but a perfect relay from Bonicki and fantastic tag from Eglow denied Zima at home plate.

Richall kept the offense clicking in the bottom of the sixth when he scored on a Tice double down the left field line.

The seventh inning saw yet another Cougar run come across when a David Eschen (New York, N.Y.) double put runners on second and third. Conway hit a slow roller to third that was gloved by Gelzinis but when he realized his throw wouldn't have gotten Conway at first, he was able to catch Bonicki in a run down to break up the inning's momentum.

Elms put all three of their runs on the board in the eighth highlighted by RBI singles from Zima and Harrison.

Clark tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the frame as both Bonicki and Conway delivered run scoring hits.

Walsh went the first five innings for the Scarlet and White, working out of trouble on a couple of occasions, yet allowing just three hits on his way to victory.

Brett O'Keefe (Brighton, Mass.) was excellent in relief for Clark, tossing two innings, yielding just two hits while striking out a pair to pick up his second career save.

For Elms, Andrew Sadowski (Northampton, Mass.) took the loss, going two innings and allowing three runs – only one of which was earned.

Zima had three hits for the Blazers, who got two hits each from Aedin Wadja, Tim Donahue and Harrison.

In addition to his four hits, Conway also drove in three runs, while Bonicki, Eglow, Eschen and Hutchinson all had two hits for Clark.

Both teams will return to action on Saturday with out of region contests in Florida. Elms opens up play with a doubleheader against Illinois College, while the Scarlet and White play a single game against Capital.