Lancers Flip the Script versus Clark, Win in Bottom Ninth Walk-Off

Worcester, MA- After an intense double-header on Saturday that garnered two wins for the Lancers, the boys were back in action on Monday afternoon as they played host to the Clark University Cougars this afternoon, in a game with plenty of drama heading in. Just over two weeks ago, Worcester State lost a heartbreaker to the Cougars in a late-inning collapse that culminated in a Clark walk-off. With a chip on their shoulder, the Lancers returned the favor taking a back-and-forth battle in walk-off fashion. 

All afternoon the Cougars and Lancers traded blows in what amounted to a whopping 26 combined hits. 

Clark struck first with an atypical first inning in which they scratched a pair of runs across on only one hit to take a 2-0 lead. The Lancers answered in the bottom half of the inning to pull within one on a sophomore Anthony Iamorone (Providence, R.I.) sac fly. 

Clark added a run a couple of innings later in the top of the third to make it 3-1, and again the Lancers clawed back to within a run when junior Top Halliwell (leominster, MA) singled home a run. An inning later the Lancers would finally pull ahead when first year Chris Cordani (Holliston, Mass.) chased in sophomore Mason Bates (Shrewsbury, Mass.) on the first triple (and hit) of his college career. Codani came home a batter later when sophomore Xavier Quezada (Providence, R.I.) got in on the fun with an RBI single to make it 4-3 Lancers. 

Their time on top was short-lived, as the Cougars rallied for two runs in the top of the fifth to jump back ahead 5-4. But not to worry, Cordani answered the call once again in the bottom of the sixth with a 2 RBI single to flip the Lancers back on top 6-5. He scored a batter later when Quezada reached on an error, and Quezada came home on a wild pitch to make it 8-5. 

The Lancers got a few solid innings on the mound from first year Nolan Turner (Barnstable, Mass.) who held the lead at least for a while. Clark, relentlessly, scored two in the eighth and one in the ninth to tie it up at 8-8. 

Senior Alex Sorenti-Burns (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk, and was bunted into scoring position by Iamorone. A wild pitch got Sorenti-Burns ninety feet away, and first year Aaron Siegal (Abington, Mass.) finished the job with a sacrifice fly to deep center to send the Lancers home happy. 

The win makes the Lancers 9-12 on the season, and they'll be back in action for another non-conference tilt on Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. to take on Nichols College back at home.