WORCESTER, Mass. – The Clark University baseball team earned its first win of the 2020 season on Sunday as three homers fueled a 6-1 victory against visiting St. Joseph's College before falling in a 3-2 final during game two of the non-conference doubleheader at Granger Field.

The Basics

Score: Cougars 6, Monks 1 | Monks 3, Cougars 2

Records: Clark University (1-2) | St. Joseph's (1-1)

How it Happened

Game One: Cougars 6, Monks 1

Sophomore right-hander Jafar Vohra (Shelton, Conn.) tossed 4.2 strong innings for the Cougars in his season debut, striking out four and allowing one earned run on four hits.

Offensively, junior James Huber (Rochester, N.Y.) and senior Collin Porter (Brookfield, Conn.) each finished 2-for-2 with a walk and a homer apiece to aid the seven-hit effort of the Cougars.

Senior Nick Jordan (Seaford, N.Y.) added a homer as part of a 1-for-3 game at the dish while sophomore Andrea Casabianca (Yonkers, N.Y.) picked up an RBI double.

The Cougars pushed a run across in the bottom of the second as Huber tripled off the left field fence with one out to put a man in scoring position. One batter later, senior Andrew Thibault (Nashua, N.H.) drove a liner over the head of the third baseman to bring the run in, pulling into second with a double.

Clark added another before the end of the frame as Casibianca ripped a double to the warning track in centerfield for a ground-rule double, bringing in Thibault for the 2-0 score. The host finished the inning with four hits.

The Monks threatened in the top of the third as a double from catcher Matthew Martinello to right centerfield gave the visitors a scoring chance with no outs. After a sacrifice fly moved him to third, Vohra buckled down to record to final two outs with the first coming with a strikeout.

The Cougars broke out the power swing in the bottom of the fourth as Huber unloaded on an inside pitch to clear the fence in left centerfield for his first homer of the season. Two batters later, senior Collin Porter (Waterbury, Conn.) followed suit when he cranked his second dinger in as many days to the same spot. Senior Nick Jordan (Seaford, N.Y.) finished off the stretch as he connected on a one-out solo homer o make it a 5-0 game.

St. Joe's got on the board in the top of the fifth inning as Gonzalez reached on a double before coming around later in the frame on another two-bagger from Justin Juliano, with the hit ending the day of Vohra.

Clark was led to victory with a solid showing from the bullpen as junior Alex Macek (Milford, Mass.) came on for 1.1 innings of scoreless relief before first-year Benjamin Spencer (New Holland, Pa.) closed out the game in the seventh in his collegiate debut.

Game Two: Monks 3, Cougars 2

Clark had three finish with multi-hit games during the backend of the doubleheader with junior Chris Radovic (Fairfield, Conn.) picking up two knocks, including his first homer of the 2020 season and a double. Junior Trevor Ham (North Andover, Mass.) recorded a 2-for-3 game while Jordan continued his hot start at the plate with his second multi-hit game. 

St. Joseph's grabbed an early 1-0 lead as Drew Healey rocketed a two-out double before a two-bagger from Jonathan Dube brought around his teammate. Clark responded in the home half of the inning as the power surge on the day continued when Radovic flicked a two-run homer to left-centerfield for his first jack of the year to make it 2-1. 

The Monks battled back quickly, striking for a pair of runs in the top of the second as a triple from Zach Miles plated both Colin Jackson and Jacob McGill to give the visitors the slim 3-2 lead. Clark had opportunities to pull even, loading the bases in both the fourth and seventh inning, with the Monks escaping the final jam to seal the victory on a strikeout from Jonathan Marchia. 

Sean Savage (Berkley Heights, N.J.) got the start in his season-debut being saddled with the loss following four completes innings of work which saw him strikeout four while surrendering three runs on five hits. First-year Max Moss (Manhattan, N.Y.) came on for three innings of hitless relief in his collegiate debut while striking out a pair. 

Up Next

Clark returns home on Tuesday, February 25 when it hosts Western New England in a 3:30 PM matchup at Granger Field.