Auburndale, Fla. – Freshman Mike Tice (Chelmsford, Mass.) tossed an excellent effort on the mound and Clark University took the nightcap to earn a split with Gordon College in non-league baseball action on Thursday morning at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex.

With the split, the Cougars stand at 5-5 overall in advance of their final two games of the trip on Friday against Muskingum.

In the opener, the Fighting Scots' Matt Armore went six innings allowing four hits, just one earned run and nine strikeouts on 135 pitches.

Gordon jumped on Clark starter Conor Walsh (Marstons Mills, Mass.) in the first, pushing three runs across beginning with a Jeremy Jackson single to center and a Ryan Paulsen single through the left side.

The Cougars answered back with a run in the bottom of the frame, when Kyle Bonicki (Waterbury, Conn.) walked and then came around to score on a James Conway (Newburyport, Mass.) double down the right field line.

After the Fighting Scots got on the board again in the fourth on a Paulsen sacrifice fly, Clark made it 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth on a Conway RBI groundout and then David Eschen (New York, N.Y.), who got on base on a single to left earlier in the inning, scampered home on a wild pitch.

Things stayed that way until the sixth when Gordon put together six hits including a single, double and triple in consecutive at-bats to plate five runs.

Clark had an opportunity to inch closer in the sixth when they loaded the bases on a Michael Eglow (Delmar, N.Y.) double, a fielder's choice and a Tyler Hutchinson (Greene, Maine) walk.

Leadoff hitter Teddy Downing (Cambridge, Mass.) worked the count to 3-1 and the next pitch looked to be a ball but it was called a strike. The runners at all bases had begun to advance as if it was a walk and Gordon quickly realized what happened and threw to third base where Eglow was tagged out to end the inning and the threat.

Walsh (1-3) took the loss for the Scarlet and White, going five innings and yielding 12 hits and seven earned runs.

In the second game, Tice was stellar, going six innings, scattering nine hits and allowing just two earned runs.

Clark gave Tice an early lead when Eglow and Zach Richall (Tyngsboro, Mass.) had back-to-back singles to open the second. Adam Chochrek (Foxboro, Mass.) drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and then Hutchinson knocked in Richall with an RBI triple.

After Gordon got on the board in the second with a single run, the Cougars pushed its lead back to two with an Eschen single that plated Bonicki, who led off the inning with a triple to center.

The Fighting Scots inched closer with a run in the third, making the score, 3-2.

Gordon threatened in the bottom of the seventh when Addison Tarr opened the inning with a walk and Alex Smith singled down the line putting runners on first and second with no outs.

Reliever Brett O'Keefe (Brighton, Mass.) came on and quickly got an out on a fielder's choice and then was able to turn a game-ending double play to collect his second save of the season.

Bonicki, Hutchinson and Richall all went 2-for-3 in the nightcap.

First pitch in tomorrow's doubleheader with the Fighting Muskies at 9:15 AM.