Baseball Cruises to 17-5 Victory Over Clark

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team clobbered Clark University 17-5 in non-league play Monday afternoon at Bradley Field, the program's highest scoring output since a 20-19 loss April 22, 2010.

The Lions improve to 7-16 on the season with the win while the Cougars slip to 7-11 overall.

Rookie Luis Gonzalez (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) led Eastern Nazarene's 17-hit attack with three base knocks, three RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base. Pat Yee (Lynnfield, Mass.) notched four RBIs, two hits and two runs scored. Kurt Picarelli (Montrose, N.Y.) drove in three RBIs, landed two hits and crossed the plate once. Cameron Fiorentino (Uxbridge, Mass.) and Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) each finished with three runs scored, two hits and two RBIs on the day while Ben Kefalis (Middleboro, Mass.) posted a pair of base knocks and scored one run.

Eastern Nazarene broke the scoreless stalemate in the bottom of the fourth inning, plating a pair of runs. Picarelli raked a lead-off triple to deep left field before tagging up and scoring from third on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Eric Shea (Rossmoor, Calif.). Justin Wagner followed with a double and Gonzalez laced his first double of the season to left-center to plate Justin Wagner.

Clark battled back to level the game at 2-2 in the top of the fifth. Tyler Hutchinson led off the inning with a triple and crossed the plate on an error. Kyle Bonicki drove in James Conway from third with a hard-hit infield single.

The Lions established a commanding 12-2 lead in the home half of the fifth inning with a 10-run outburst. Yee, Shea, Justin Wagner, Gonzalez and Picarelli all collected RBIs for the home team.

The Cougars cut the margin to 12-5 with three runs in the top of the sixth inning. Daniel Lima drew a bases loaded walk and Adam Chochrek followed with a two-run double to left.

The home team responded with four scores in the bottom of the frame to extend its advantage to 16-5. Gonzalez singled through the left side of the infield to plate Jake Koch (Dayton, Nev.) from third. Fiorentino landed a single in centerfield to score Justin Wagner and Gonzalez. With two runners in scoring position, Yee slid head-first into first base to beat out an infield single and Fiorentino scampered home on the hit.

Eastern Nazarene tacked on a run in the eighth inning to cap off the scoring. Justin Wagner absorbed a hit-by-pitch with the bases full as Daniel Petty (North Chili, N.Y.) trotted home.

Antonio Ortegon (Haltom City, Texas) pitched 4.1 innings in his third start of the spring and struck out two batters while allowing one earned run. Rob Dukes (Spencer, Mass.) pitched one inning and surrendered one hit. Shea tossed 1.2 innings and recorded one strikeout. Joe Cardaropoli (Agawam, Mass.) hurled one scoreless inning with two strikeouts. Bobby Barber (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) pitched the final frame and struck out three of the five batters he faced.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene will battle Rivier April 14 under the lights of Holman Stadium.