Lake Myrtle, Fla. – Clark and Worcester-area rival Anna Maria split a pair of games on Sunday afternoon with the AMCATS taking game one 12-7 and the Cougars rebounding for a game two, 12-4 victory at Warner Southern University's Royals Stadium.
The day's opening contest saw every Anna Maria starter get at least one hit and four get two as they banged out 13 hits in the win.
Jim McNamara tossed six innings of six-hit ball as the AMCATS broke open a 2-2 game with five runs in the fifth, three runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh.
After a Jeff Scafidi two-run homer in the first off of starter James Wilson (Chatham, N.J.), Clark evened the game up in the fourth when Kevin Kopec (Katonah, N.Y.) scored on a wild pitch and James Cadogan (Ipswich, Mass.) RBI single.
Anna Maria then answered with five runs in the fifth highlighted by McNamara's RBI double and Andy Fallon's run scoring single.
The Cougars got right back into the game when Mitch DeLorenzo (Berlin, Conn.) blasted a three-run homerun to left field, making the score 7-5 after the fifth but would get no closer as Dan Vladimer (Lexington, Mass.) took the loss for Clark.
In game two, sophomore Derek Dubois (Haverhill, Mass.) collected his first career victory, tossing a complete game four hitter while striking out a career-best nine batters.
The Cougar offense cranked out 14 hits including homeruns from freshman Brian Sullivan (Auburn, Mass.) and Mike Lamothe (Bellingham, Mass.).
Clark jumped out early on AMCAT starter Zach Rafferty as leadoff hitter Matt Bohl (Amherst, Mass.) walked and came around to score on a Peter Lewis (Gardiner, Maine) triple to left center. Lewis then scored on an RBI groundout by Scott Hollingsworth (Tilton, N.H.). Two more runs came across on RBI singles from Lamothe and Nicholas Flemister (Pittsford, N.Y.) to give to Cougars a 4-0 lead.
Anna Maria responded with three runs of their own on two hits in the first but, Dubois settled down and got Jeff Kodys swinging to end the inning.
The Cougars scored an unearned run in the second but the AMCATS got it right back with an RBI single by Hyland.
Lamothe made the score 6-4 with his homerun in the fifth and then Clark exploded for six runs in the seventh. Sullivan led off the inning with a homerun to left and then runs came home on run scoring hits by Charles Sakany (Vero Beach, Fla.) and Bohl, before DeLorenzo delivered a three-run double to left center, making the score 12-4.
Dubois, who retired nine of the last ten batters he faced, induced a game-ending, around-the-horn double play to cap off his pitching performance.
Lamothe pace the Clark offense with three hits, two runs scored and two RBI, while Bohl, Lewis, and Hollingsworth all had two hits.
The Cougars will return to action on Monday morning with a pair of games against Mount Union (Ohio) beginning at 9:00 a.m.