NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. – Elms College swept both ends of the doubleheader tonight in New England Collegiate Conference action at the New England Baseball Complex in Northborough, Mass. Elms junior Tom Weldon (Springfield, Mass.) threw a complete game shutout as the Blazers took game one 3-0 before holding off a late-inning rally to prevail with a 5-4 victory in game two.
The pair of losses drops the Lynx to 6-11 overall and 3-4 in NECC play while the Blazers improve to 7-8 on the year and 2-3 in conference games.
Weldon the Lynx batters off balance throughout all seven innings as he yielded just four hits in the complete game shutout as he moves to 2-2 on the season. The tall righthander walked just one and struck out seven in the win.
Sophomore Jordan Zima (Berlin, Conn.) led the offense for the Blazers as he finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored while classmate Tim Gelzinis (North Dighton, Mass.) also had a two-hit performance with a double and a run scored.
The Blazers wasted little time in creating offense as they plated four runs in bottom the first. Gelzinis started the rally with a single to right field before moving into scoring position as Geoff Frost (Ludlow, Mass.) reached on an error. Zima followed with an RBI single up the middle before freshman Michael Bombard (Chicopee, Mass.) sent an RBI single up the middle of his own. The Blazers scored their third run of the inning when junior Nolan Medeiros (Taunton, Mass.) sent a run-scoring single into left center to put Elms up 3-0.
Lynx freshman starter Tom Muratore (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) limited the Blazers to just four hits the rest of the way as he went the distance, falling to 3-1 on the season.
Junior Andrew Sadowski (Northampton, Mass.) followed up Weldon's strong performance in game one with an outstanding effort of his own in game two for the Blazers. The righty was charged with four runs on eight hits while striking out 11 Lesley batters to earn his second win of the season on the bump.
After trailing 5-2 in the top of the seventh, the Lynx offense found some life as they cut the deficit to one run. Sophomore Mike Slaby (Foxboro, Mass.) provided the spark as he laced a one-out single to centerfield. Senior David Hersey (Wolfeboro, N.H.) followed Slaby with a double to right field to move both runners into scoring position. After Sadowski punched out his 11th batter of the game to record the second out of the inning, Lesley senior Robert Parson (Commack, N.Y.) sent a groundball up the middle that found its way through the Blazer infield, allowing both Slaby and Hersey to score. Parson would quickly get himself into scoring position with a stolen base, but Sadowski would escape any further damage as he forced a lazy fly ball into right for the final out of the game.
Elms freshman Michael Bombard (Chicopee, Mass.) powered the Blazer attack with a perfect 3-for-3 performance at the dish while scoring two runs and knocking in a pair. After Lesley evened that game at 2-2 in the top of the fourth inning, Bombard launched a screaming line drive over the left-centerfield wall for his first home run of his career to put the Blazers back in front 3-2. The rookie provided Elms with another clutch hit in the bottom of the sixth as he roped a run-scoring double down the left field line and then scored what turned into the game-winning run on an errant Lesley pickoff attempt.
Blazers senior Brady Forrest (Hampden, Mass.) finished 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored atop the Elms lineup while Gelzinis knocked in a pair of runs as he went 1-for-3 at the plate.
Parson led the Lynx offense as he finished 2-for-4 with two RBI, one run scored, and one steal while fellow senior John Gosnell (Toronto, Ont.) also finished with a pair of hits as his average moved to a team-leading .486 on the season.
The Lynx will be off until Thursday, April 2nd when they battle Fitchburg State in a non-conference tilt that will be played at Auburn High School at 7:00p. Elms will continue their NECC play on Saturday when they play host to Newbury College in a doubleheader at Mackenzie Stadium in Holyoke, Mass. at 1:00p.