WORCESTER, Mass. – The Clark University baseball fell in a non-conference doubleheader with Wheaton College Saturday afternoon at Granger Field as the Lyons edged out a 4-1 victory in a tightly-contested game one before coming away with a 12-1 final score in game two.

The Lyons grabbed an early lead in game one as a ground out from Nick Croteau (Cumberland, R.I.) allowed Brody Ashley (Strafford, N.H.) to come in for the day's first run. Wheaton added to the advantage in the top of the third as junior Jake Studley (Barrington, R.I.) led off the frame with a solo homer. The visitors added another run later in the inning as Zach Demattio (North Attleboro, Mass.) legged out a triple before a line shot single from Andrew Manni (Middleton, Mass.) made it a 3-0 lead. 

Clark got on the board in the bottom of the third inning as Trevor Ham (North Attleboro, Mass.) led off with a single before a gap shot double off the bat of Andrew Thibault (Nashua, N.H.) allowed Ham to round the bases to cut into the deficit. 

Wheaton tacked on another run in the top of the sixth inning as George Mulcahey doubled in Stephen Quigley to make it a 4-1 lead. The Cougars threatened in the bottom half of the frame as they would load the bases following a lead-off single from Dylan Horn (Sterling, Conn.) and another single from Anthony Keefe (Plymouth, Mass.), but with two down, Wheaton was able to nullify the opportunity from the host. Clark put runners into scoring position in the seventh inning but was unable to push another run across as the Lyons held onto the 4-1 final score in game one. 

In game two, it was Clark who grabbed the early lead as the Cougars struck in the bottom of the first inning as senior Chris Radovic (Fairfield, Conn.) launched a two-out solo homer to pick up his first longball of the season. Wheaton responded in a big way in the top of the second inning as the Lyons pushed across eight runs with Demattio driving in five himself after a solo homer and a grand slam in the same inning. The Lyons tacked on two more in the top of the fourth, highlighted by an RBI double from Ashley, before plating one run in both the seventh and ninth innings for the 12-1 final score.  

Game Details:

Score: Wheaton 4, Clark 1 (GM1); Wheaton 12, Clark 1 (GM2)

Records: Clark University (0-4) // Wheaton College (4-0)

Location: Granger Field (Worcester, Mass.)

Clark Game One Highlights:

• Junior Jafar Vohra (Shelton, Conn.) came on for three solid innings of relief including a season-high five strikeouts while scattering one hit. It marked his fifth career appearance with five or more strikeouts. 

• Ham led the Cougars offense with the senior going 3-for-3 at the dish including one run and a double. It marked his second double of the season and the fourth multi-hit game of his career. 

• Horn also added a pair of hits for the Cougars, finishing 2-for-3 at the plate while also drawing a walk. The graduate student also notched his 31st multi-hit performance and extended his hitting streak to six games, which ended in game two of the doubleheader. 

Clark Game Two Highlights:

• First-year Samuel Farrell (Holliston, Mass.) picked up his first collegiate knock during the ninth inning as he beat out an infield two-out single. 

• First-year David Egan (North Scituate, R.I.) also enjoyed his first collegiate base hit with the outfielder driving a leadoff double in the fifth inning. 

• Sophomore Benjamin Spencer (New Holland, Pa.) tossed two frames for the Cougars while striking out two batters to match a career-high for innings pitched and strikeouts in an appearance. 

• Sophomore Nate Bonini (Westfield, Mass.) came on in the eighth inning to toss a perfect frame including matching his career-high of two strikeouts. 

Up Next:

Clark University is scheduled to clash with WPI on April 10 starting at 12:00 PM.