WORCESTER, Mass. – The Clark University baseball team (17-19, 8-8 NEWMAC) clinched a spot in the NEWMAC Playoffs next week as they split a Friday doubleheader with WPI (16-21, 5-11 NEWMAC) from Granger Field.

This is the first time since 2018 that the Cougars will be playing in the NEWMAC Playoffs.

Game One: WPI 7, Clark 4

• Senior Benjamin Spencer took the bump in game one and tossed a scoreless first inning and in the bottom of the first, senior Ryan Caulfield singled to right field and came around to score on a wild pitch to give Clark a 1-0 lead.
• After a pair of scoreless innings, the Engineers took a 4-1 lead as they plated four runs in the top of the fourth.
• Graduate student Andrea Casabianca and junior Anthony LoCasto each singled in the bottom of the fifth, but WPI got out of the jam.
• In the seventh inning, sophomore Tyler Jones singled to left field, stole second, and advanced to third, but was unable to come around to score.
• Sophomore CJ Johnson singled to right field in the bottom of the eighth to plate junior Samuel Farrell and Jones hit a two-RBI single to right center that scored sophomores Sean Borden and Carter Doran to go down 7-4, but were unable to rally in the ninth.

Game Two: Clark 3, WPI 1

• Clark jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first as Doran singled to right field scoring Caulfield and Johnson belted an RBI double to left field that plated Doran.
• Junior Maxwell Gitlin took the mound for the Cougars and tossed a scoreless first and second inning before Johnson and Jones singled in the top of the third, but were left on base.
• Caulfield doubled to right field and plated junior Billy Sullivan after Sullivan stole second and third to give Clark a 3-0 edge.
• Gitlin set the Engineers down in order in the third, fourth, and fifth inning before getting out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the sixth after setting down Johns looking.
• After WPI added a run in the bottom of the seventh, senior Max Moss came into the game and got out of a pair of jams as Clark came away with a 3-1 victory.

What's Next

Clark will close out the regular season tomorrow with a road game against WPI from Holy Cross beginning at 11:00 a.m.