MILTON, Mass. – Curry College hung a pair of shutouts on Nichols College, 8-0 and 4-0, in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) baseball action Saturday afternoon in Milton. With the wins, the Colonels improve to 25-11 overall and 17-5 in the TCCC and clinch home-field advantage in next week’s conference tournament. The Bison conclude their season at 11-24 overall and 7-15 in league play.
In the opener, Curry plated three quick runs in the bottom of the first, highlighted by a two-RBI double by senior Tim Sweeney that drove home senior Tony Luciani and junior Brad Hawn. The Colonels then added another run in the second after Hawn singled to centerfield to bring home senior Jesse Bruinsma. The Colonels added a pair of runs in both the third and fourth frames, including a two-run single by junior Carlos Cornejo.
Senior Cory Collins improved to 5-1 on the season. Collins struck out five batters, scattered five hits and issued no walks over six shutout innings. Senior Tim Smith (Plainfield, Conn.) absorbed the loss, falling to 2-7 on the year. Smith went the distance, giving up 12 hits, three walks and eight earned runs in his six innings of work.
In the nightcap, the Colonels again struck quickly, plating two runs in the first. The inning began with a double by Bruinsma. A fielder’s choice by Hawn erased Bruinsma, but Luciani then tripled to left field to bring Hawn home. Senior Rick Vail (Lynnfield, MA) followed with a double to right that brought Luciani home.
The score remained 2-0 until the sixth when the Colonels scored two more times. One run came home on a pinch-hit infield single by sophomore David Stevens.
Senior Ben Howrigan picked up the win to improve to 2-0. He struck out five batters and allowed only two hits in 5 1/3 innings of work. After Nichols put runners on first and second in the top of the seventh with one out, junior Brian Pipines came on and induced a game-ending double play off the bat of junior Matt Whitman (North Plainfield, N.J.). Senior Joe Atchue (Grafton, Mass.) went the distance, but saw his record fall to 2-6. He surrendered nine hits and three earned runs while striking out seven over six innings.
Story courtesy Curry College Sports Information
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score