SOMERVILLE, Mass. –Lynx sophomore Ray Cohen (Coventry, Conn.) continued his dominance on the mound this season, tossing a complete-game, three-hit shutout to lead the Lynx to a 1-0 win over New England College in the first game of today's doubleheader at Trum Field. The Pilgrim bats woke up in the second game, however, as they slugged their way to their first win of the season, an 11-4 win in the nightcap. With the split, the Lynx move to 6-7 on the year while the Pilgrims go to 1-5.
Game one was a pitcher's duel of the truest kind. Cohen limited NEC to just three singles on the day while collecting five strikeouts while the Pilgrim's starter Francesco Dire (Barrington, R.I.) nearly matched that effort, giving up just four hits (all singles) and striking out four.
The only run of the game came when Lesley sophomore Rob Parson (Commack, N.Y.) legged out an infield single in the bottom half of the third and advanced to second base on a throwing error. After reaching third on NEC's second error of the inning, Parson came around when Tyler Plourd (Canton, Conn.) roped a single into left field, giving the Lynx a 1-0 lead. For Plourd, it was his team-leading 12th RBI of the season.
The Lynx threatened to add more in the inning, but DiRe escaped the bases-loaded jam by getting the final two batters of the inning to strike out and ground out.
From there, Cohen was on cruise control, allowing only three base-runners over the final four innings.
For Cohen, it was his third consecutive complete-game while it is his first shutout of the season. He lowered his ERA to a staggering 0.86 on the year, having allowed just two runs in 21 innings of work.
In game two, the Pilgrims got to work early as four of the first six batters of the game all came around to score. NEC junior Brandon Adorno (Ft. Myers, Fla.) laced an RBI double down the left field line to bring DiRe around from second. Kevin Caputo (Taunton, Mass.) followed Adorno's double with a sacrifice fly to center field, bringing in Scott Fortune (Shrub Oak, N.Y.) while freshman Matthew Krum (Paramus, N.J.) rounded out the Pilgrims first inning scoring efforts with an RBI single to left that allowed Adorno to cross the plate.
Lesley answered with two of their own in the bottom half of the frame as Parson and sophomore Adam Ciampi (Westford, Mass.) each got on to lead off the inning. After NEC starter Jordan Hubbard (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) retired the next two Lynx batters, Lesley third baseman John Gosnell (Toronto, Canada) looped a two-out single to right, allowing both Parson and Ciampi to come around, cutting the Pilgrims lead in half.
After adding one more in the second, the Pilgrims blew it open in the top of the third. Freshman Connor Crouse (West Haven, Conn.) started the scoring when he ripped an RBI double to right field while Fortune followed him up with an RBI single to right. Two batters later, Krum knocked in his fourth RBI of the game when he sent a single through the box into centerfield, giving the Pilgrims a commanding 9-2 lead on their way to an 11-4 victory.
Krum, who went 1-2 in the early game, finished game two going 3-5 with a team-high four RBI while Adorno and Fortune each knocked in two runs apiece. DiRe, who played third base in the nightcap, scored four runs from the lead-off spot in the lineup.
For the Lynx, Gosnell and Joe Muratore (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) each had two hits. Freshman Forrest Steevens (Wilton, N.H.) pitched a scoreless inning of relief in his first collegiate appearance, striking out the first batter he faced.
The Lynx return to action on Tuesday, when they host Fitchburg State University at Trum Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00p.The Pilgrims get back on the diamond on Monday when they host Colby-Sawyer College in their home opener.