By Tucker Paquette
@tpaquette17
Springfield baseball was upended by MIT at home by a final score of 5-0 on Tuesday afternoon, as quality pitching and a five-run eighth inning propelled the Engineers past the Pride.
For the first seven innings of play, there was very little meaningful action on Archie Allen Field. Both teams’ starting pitchers were dealing, there was hardly any offense to speak of and the game was moving in a hurry.
However, things took a downward turn for the Pride in the top of the eighth. MIT notched two base hits in the opening stages of the inning, and two fielding errors by Springfield gave the Engineers extended life. They first resorted to small-ball to capitalize on the Pride’s mistakes, laying down a couple of bunts.
Shortly thereafter, a two-run single by MIT second baseman Kyle Sonandres gave the team some additional breathing room, and they tacked on two more runs for good measure.
Springfield head coach Mark Simeone sees what happened in the eighth inning as a result of MIT using bunts and a more deliberate offensive approach to their advantage.
“I think they had two balls hit out of the infield if I remember right, maybe three,” Simeone said. “It wasn’t that they were racking our pitches around. They did a good [job] with how they executed situationally… and then they got a couple big hits with the guys on base too.”
Pride starter Colby Welch pitched deep into the game, tossing 7 ⅓ innings with five runs (three earned) crossing the plate. However, Springfield’s bats were shut down over the course of the game, as they tallied just one hit. The quiet offensive output gave the team’s pitching and defense less margin for error.
While that isn’t typically a recipe for success, Simeone doesn’t seem too concerned about today’s result having any long-term effects on his team.
“They stifled us offensively, and they had that one big inning,” Simeone said. “And that was really the tale of the game.”
The loss drops Springfield to .500 on the season, but perhaps more importantly, it moves their record in NEWMAC play to 1-7. With all but one of their remaining games set to be a conference matchup, this is something that is top of mind for the Pride.
Simeone shared the Pride’s mindset as their schedule kicks into high gear.
“We’ve got to keep grinding, and every game that we play in the conference is a playoff game,” Simeone said.
With Springfield looking to right the ship with their conference play performance, Simeone believes a couple of factors in particular will help them do so.
“I think there’s two things,” Simeone said. “It’s the ascendance of our leadership, and then playing better when it counts. Getting the job done in those big spot situations that we’re capable of [will be key].”
Focusing on the first point, Simeone believes the Pride’s players will be essential to a growth in team leadership.
“I challenge all of our players to do even more than we’ve done from a leadership standpoint, [to] really be [energizing] and motivating each other to stay together and to work together,” Simeone said. “If we do, I believe we’re capable [of getting back on track].”
The Pride’s next chance to improve their NEWMAC record will come on Saturday, with a home doubleheader against Clark University set to begin at noon.