Worcester, Mass. – Callum Sawden (Old Lyme, Conn.) spun a one-hit shutout to highlight a doubleheader sweep for Clark University as they topped Worcester County rival Anna Maria, 4-0 and 6-4 in a pair of non-league games on Sunday afternoon.
The two victories for the Cougars continue an incredible second season under head coach J.P. Pyne that has them sitting at 15-3 as they approach the midway point of their 2017 season.
For the AMCATS, meanwhile, they fall to 7-12 and have now lost four of their last five after a four game winning streak.
Game 1: Clark University 4, Anna Maria 0 (7 Innings)
Sawden was spectacular in shutting down Anna Maria in the opener as he allowed just a first inning single on the way to his first collegiate victory.
In the complete game shutout, Sawden did yield four walks but fanned six and had two huge pickoffs at second base to thwart two Anna Maria scoring chances. After allowing the infield single in the first and then hitting a batter, he was able to end the inning by picking off Matt Leahey who got caught wandering too far off of second base.
Sawden's other pickoff came in the third when Joseph Fahey walked and stole second with two outs but was erased by Sawden with the help of Kyle Bonicki (Waterbury, Conn.) and Adam Chochrek (Foxboro, Mass.).
Clark's offense got going in the third when Kyle Shaw (Litchfield, N.H.) led off the inning with a triple to right center and he then scored on a Bonicki infield hit. Bonicki kept the offense going by stealing second and moving to third on a wild pitch. He then came home on a Zach Kelley (Hadley, Mass.) sacrifice fly, giving the Scarlet and White a 2-0 lead.
The Cougars then doubled their advantage in the fifth with two outs. Chochrek sent a ball to left that was misplayed allowing the inning to continue. Kelley walked and when he and Chochrek attempted to steal, the throw from the catcher was high allowing Chochrek to score. Kelley then raced home on a ringing David Rotando (Hastings, N.Y.) single to left.
Now ahead 4-0, Sawden locked in and retired six of the final seven batters he faced to secure the win.
Both Shaw and Bonicki had two hits each for Clark while Leahey had the only hit for the AMCATS.
Game 2: Clark University 6, Anna Maria 4 (7 Innings)
In the nightcap, the Scarlet and White took advantage of five Anna Maria errors to rally for the twinbill sweep.
Clark got on the board in the bottom of the first when Shaw singled, stole second and came home on a Downing RBI single.
The AMCATS evened the score in the second when they loaded the bases against Cougar starter Joe Gouveia (Nashua, N.H.) and Fahey delivered an RBI single that scored Luis Urena.
Two Anna Maria miscues led to another run in the third for Clark, but the AMCATS plated two runs in the fifth to take their first lead. Fahey walked and then tied the game when he scored on a Leahey double to left. Leahey then put Anna Maria in front when he scored on a Connor Lavin single to left.
Clark answered back in the fifth when they scored four runs highlighted by an RBI single from Chochrek, an RBI triple from Kelley and a run scoring base hit by Ryan Rhulin (Portland, Maine).
Anna Maria threatened in the seventh when Tanner Jakola (Leominster, Mass.) singled then raced home on a Leahey triple to center.
Reliever Josh Dobratz (Southington, Conn.) settled down and retired the final two batters to record his league-leading third save.
Daniel Davidoff (Old Tappan, N.J.) scooped up the win in relief, tossing 2.1 innings while yielding four hits and two earned runs.
Camden Brown, Jakola and Leahey all had two hits for the AMCATS, while Rhulin went 2-for-3 and Downing drove in a run, scored a run and drew two walks for Clark.
Up Next:
The Cougars will return to action on Tuesday when they host Wheaton College in a NEWMAC contest at 3:30 p.m. Anna Maria hits the field again on Tuesday with a home contest against Fitchburg State.