MILTON, Mass.—All-CCC pitcher Thomas Fitzpatrick (South Boston, Mass.) went eight innings strong and shutdown the top offense in the Commonwealth Coast Conference in a 4-1 win at home against Gordon. The Fighting Scots could only manage five hits and one run against the Curry ace and will face an elimination game from the CCC tournament on Friday.
The Fighting Scots threatened in the first inning when
Dean Demers (Sandy Hook, Conn.) and
Alex Smith (Wethersfield, Conn.) both reach based. Demers singled with one out and Smith made it safe to first despite striking out because of a passed ball. Fitzpatrick got out of the jam by getting
Mark Fitzgerald (Camarillo, Calif.) to miss on a third strike.
Curry scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the second inning.
Wes Arning (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) got two of the first three batters out, but a walk and a RBI double by Alex McLean (Eliot, Maine) escorted the first run of the game home.
The Colonels made it 2-0 in their favor in the fifth inning with McLean again being at the forefront of the attack. He led off the inning with another double and advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt at second base. Curry's leading hitter John Arens (Milton, Mass.) poked a single up the middle of the field to score McLean on the next play.
Gordon finally broke through Fitzpatrick in the sixth inning.
Eric Walker (Danvers, Mass.) started off the frame with a single to left. Demers and
Travis Pullen (Las Vegas, Nev.) followed it up with back-to-back singles to score Walker and put two runners on base with no outs. A failed sacrifice bunt and a strikeout put a damper on the Scots tying the game.
McLean doubled for the third time in the seventh inning and scored on a Derek Pizarro (Cambridge, Mass.) single. Consecutive doubles by Nick Crivello (Millville, Mass.) and R.J. McCann (Brockton, Mass.) gave the Colonels an insurance run they wouldn't need in the eighth.
Fitzpatrick improved to 6-1 this season, while striking out seven Gordon batters in eight innings. Brian Burke (Swampscott, Mass.) earned his first save of the season. Arning dropped his record to 2-5 the season and pitched all eight innings for the Scots.
Gordon will host Salve Regina tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. after the Seahawks upset top-seeded Western New England yesterday. The Fighting Scots split the season series with the Seahawks, who boast top conference player Alex Perry.
