Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
WENHAM, Mass.—Junior Wesley Arning (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) picked up two wins on the mound for the Fighting Scots as they swept visiting Nichols College on Monday afternoon. The Fighting Scots needed a walk-off single to win 3-2 in game one and Arning got plenty of run support in for his starting in game two—with the Scots winning 8-1 in conference play.
 
Gordon improved to 11-8 on the year and 6-4 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference, while Nichols fell to 2-4 in conference play. Arning pitched two-thirds of an inning in game one to pick up a win and relief and pitched a complete game in the second contest for a rare two-win day.
 
The Fighting Scots were the first to threaten a scoreless tie, when they loaded the bases in the bottom of the third. Dawson Tefft (West Granby, Conn.) earned a walk and Alex German (Brimfield, Ill.) singled with two outs to put runners on the corners. Freshman Joe Olszak (Danvers, Mass.) went down in the count early, but waited out an eight-pitch walk to juice the bases.
 
Nichols' starter Tyler Shute (Mashpee, Mass.) got leadoff man, Eric Walker (Danvers, Mass.), to groundout to short to end the inning.
 
The Scots were back at it an inning letter after Jesse Amaya (South Gate, Calif.) led off the inning with a walk before being escorted to second on a single by Mark Fitzgerald (Camarillo, Calif.). A soft grounder pushed Amaya and Fitzgerald to second and third, setting up a sacrifice fly by Travis Pullen (Las Vegas, Nev.).
 
Alex Smith and German were at the heart of another threat in the bottom of the fourth with the Scots up 1-0. Smith led of the inning with a double to the gap and German moved him over to third with a single the next at-bat. German stole second base to put two runners in scoring position, but was caught leaning too far and was subsequently picked off.
 
Smith was brought home by Olszak on a deep sacrifice fly to straight centerfield, bring the Gordon lead to two.
 
Nichols struck back in the top of the fifth inning, aided by a pair of fielding errors to start the inning. Brett Franciosi (Leominster, Mass.) and Matt Hardy (North Attleboro, Mass.) each singled in a run to make the game all square at two.
 
The Scots set up the theatrics by loading the bases in the bottom half of the seventh on a single, an error and a fielder's choice yielding no out. Alonzo Martinez (El Paso, Texas) cranked an off-speed pitch to center, allowing Walker to tag from third for the walk-off win.
 
Game Two
 
The Scots trailed by one run early in game two, but eight runs in the fourth and fifth innings blew the game wide open in favor of Gordon. Nichols was able to hold the Scots' offense to a minimum early on in the game, but a small-ball strategy worked wonder for the Scots in the middle stages.
 
Martinez and Smith brought in three runs in the fourth inning on a pair of RBI-singles. Amaya, Martinez and Smith again, all followed similar progressions with RBI-singles in the fifth inning to build an insurmountable 8-1 lead over the Bison.
 
Amaya scored three runs on the day and punched in two RBI. Smith piled up a pair of two-hit games to bring up his average to .383 for the season, a mark that leads the team halfway through the season. Arning now leads the conference with five wins and has yet to surrender a loss for the 11-8 Fighting Scots.
 
Gordon is scheduled for a Tuesday home game with NESCAC opponent Williams College on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. Nichols returns to action for a non-conference slate as well with games against Westfield State and Worcester State on Wednesday and Thursday at home.