HARTFORD, Conn.—Gordon Baseball overcame a tough game one to salvage a split with Western New England on Monday at Murren Family Field on the campus of Trinity College. The Golden Bears used a big third inning to pace their way to a convincing 19-9 victory before Gordon got one back with a 4-2 triumph in the nightcap.
 
Game One
 
The Fighting Scots jumped out to the early advantage with three runs in the top half of the first inning. Gordon put immediate pressure on All-CCC performer Bob Hamel by loading the bases and getting RBIs from Christian Hodge (Waltham, Mass.), Addison Tarr (Oxnard, Calif.) and Travis Benoit (Worcester, Mass.).
 
Gordon's solid lead vanished in a laborious bottom of the third inning. The Golden Bears piled on 10 runs in the frame while bringing 15 batters to the plate. Walks and errors played a major role in the explosion, as seven Golden Bears earned free passes.
 
The home side padded their lead to 11 in the next inning with their second triple of the game highlighting the scoring.
 
The Scots bats did not quiet down despite the large deficit, scoring four more runs in the fifth to halves WNE's advantage. Chris Leavitt (E. Bridgewater, Mass.) and Tarr delivered with RBI singles during the good inning.
 
Western New England put the game virtually out of reach with a two-homer inning in the sixth inning to make it 19-7 before Gordon added a pair of runs on a single by Matt Lucas (Temecula, Calif.) in the seventh.
 
The Golden Bears only outhit the Fighting Scots by two—11-9—but accepted 15 walks in the game.
 
WNE junior Jared Rosenblatt (Avon, Conn.) and sophomore Erik Lacaire (Worcester, Mass.) blasted the two home runs in the game and accounted for eight runs batted in between them.
 
Hamel took home the win despite giving up a season-high seven runs, four earned. His previous highs were five and two respectively.
 
Game Two
 
Gordon was desperate to end its six-game losing streak despite the frustrating result in the series opener.
 
After a scoreless first half of the game, Gordon again opened a 3-0 lead, but this time in the fourth. John Lagerfeldt (Stratford, Conn.) came up with a clutch bases-loaded single to get the Scots on the board before Dean Demers (Sandy Hook, Conn.) earned a full-count walk to drive in another. The Fighting Scots scored their final run of the frame on a wild pitch.
 
Rosenblatt stayed hot in the second game with an RBI single in the bottom half of the fourth, but Western New England left the bases loaded and a chance to tie the game voided.
 
Gordon set the lead back to three runs on a two-out double by Alec Willey (San Diego, Calif.) that scored Daniel Quint (Wells, Maine) in the fifth.
 
The Golden Bears put pressure on Gordon again in the sixth, scoring a run to cut the advantage, but a 5-3 double play ended the threat effectively.
 
Gordon's Matt Amore (Pequannock, N.J.) shut the door in the seventh, turning in his best start of the season. The senior starter struck out four Golden Bears and completed a seven-inning game for the first time this spring, while allowing a season-low two runs.
 
Demers raised his average closer to the .500 mark with a 3-for-5 day in his new role of leadoff. The senior has hit safely in 15 of Gordon's 16 games this season.