By Tucker Paquette
@tpaquette17
Springfield College swept both legs of Saturday’s doubleheader on Archie Allen Field, winning by scores of 2-1 and 8-1.
Starting pitching was the catalyst for the Pride. Colby Welch began the festivities by tossing six strong innings, allowing just one unearned run. In the second game, Connor Caverly delivered a gem of his own, throwing a complete game that was punctuated by 13 strikeouts, while surrendering just five hits.
Head coach Mark Simeone thinks an aggressive mindset helped Springfield’s pitchers thrive, and he noted the difference in the way the two navigated their outings.
“Getting after people [was key],” Simeone said. “We attacked and threw strikes, and got after them. Caverly was a little tired towards the end of the second game, but really pulled the neck to get through and out of that last inning. [He] struck out a lot of guys and overmatched a lot of their hitters in game two.”
“Welch did it a different way in game one,” Simeone added. ‘Changing speeds, moving the ball around. The pitching was very good [today].”
Caverly and Welch both had their offspeed pitches working today, something Simeone believes allowed their other offerings to play up and contribute to their success.
“They went to the mound [with] competitive changeups as a secondary pitch in their repertoire, and really I think that made their other pitches better,” Simeone said.
Despite the success on the mound, things weren’t as easy for the Pride when it came to scoring runs. Springfield had tallied just three runs through the first game and the first five innings of game two. However, the offense sprang to life in the bottom of the sixth inning with the game knotted at one.
A combination of wild pitches, walks and timely base hits enabled the Pride to put up seven runs in that frame, and they pulled away from Rivier, securing their second win of the day.
To Simeone, the ability of Springfield’s offense to rise to the occasion when it mattered most shows the mentality of the Pride’s hitters.
“Big hits in big spots,” Simeone said. “Believing that, ‘hey, I want to be in this spot and I get a big hit.’ So it’s a matter of making good decisions. It’s believing in yourself when we get into those big spots. Sorgi had a big hit, DiMauro had a big hit.”
Looking ahead, Simeone is encouraged with the progress his team has made. While being able to win close games is a helpful skill to have, the Pride separating from their opponents late in games is something Simeone wants to keep seeing as the season progresses.
“I think we’re capable of doing that more consistently, and I believe we will,” Simeone said. “I think we’re going to be in situations more often where we smell blood and we pull away, and then we’re not [in] such close games.”
The rest of Springfield’s schedule features a sharp uptick in NEWMAC conference games. While Simeone notes that means they’ll be playing less games per week, he acknowledges the added importance of conference play.
“The games are bigger, which means everybody has to be ready,” Simeone said. “We played almost a totally different second team in the second game, [so] we’ve got some guys who can [be] depth on this team.”
With doubleheaders set to expand to nine innings, Springfield’s bench players could be called upon in any number of situations.
“There’ll be some depth on the bench that may be in games and doing small things that mean big things to the team, whether it’s one at bat, making a play defensively [or] coming out of the bullpen and getting a big out with guys on base,” Simeone said. “So, guys [have] to be ready.”
Simeone also anticipates a different structure for his pitching staff in the weeks ahead.
“Some of our starting pitchers will be in different roles,” Simeone said. “We’ve got five starting pitchers, and if we play three games in a week, there may be guys that are closers or long relievers in some games. We have to be adaptable, and be able to make adjustments to use our depth [of] talent to win those conference games.”
Those conference games will pick up in earnest starting on Tuesday, as the Pride will travel to Cambridge, Mass. to take on MIT at 3:30 p.m.
Photo courtesy: Springfield College Athletics