By Tucker Paquette
@tpaquette17
Springfield lost a low-scoring nail-biter to No. 8 Salve Regina at home on Tuesday afternoon by a final score of 1-0, a game that marked the beginning of NEWMAC conference play for the Pride.
Both the Pride and the Seahawks struggled offensively on the day, combining for just five hits. However, an RBI double by Salve Regina second baseman Christian Homa in the top of the sixth proved to be all they needed to get past Springfield.
Salve Regina’s starting pitcher Brayden Clark gave his team four hitless innings to open the game, and reliever Jason Arrigo came on after him and tossed four shutout frames of his own. In the eyes of Springfield head coach Mark Simeone, the Seahawks’ aggressive pitching mentality benefited them.
“They had some pretty good guys on the mound out there dealing,” Simeone said. “They threw some good pitches. I think they attacked the strike zone, they weren’t trying to pitch around people. They pitched with confidence and they were coming after us. You got to tip your cap to them.”
Although the Seahawks silenced the Pride’s bats, Simeone was pleased with how Springfield’s hitters matched the approach of the opposing pitching.
“We competed in the batter’s box,” Simeone said. “We didn’t have a lot of success, but it wasn’t because we weren’t competing. We weren’t standing there looking at pitches, we were getting after pitches. I liked our approach.”
“I think we were up there ready to hit, we were aggressive and we weren’t sitting back waiting,” Simeone added. “I thought we swung the bat early in counts when it was appropriate to do so.”
In terms of Springfield’s pitching, starter Colby Welch turned in a quality performance of his own, allowing just one run over 5 2/3 innings. While he did surrender the difference-making run in the sixth inning, Simeone was happy with his outing.
“[Welch] threw the ball great,” Simeone said. “He stepped up in a huge spot and really set the tone, kept them in check and gave us chances to score. They didn’t have any big innings, big rallies, and not too many good swings [on] pitches. He was [able to do] that because he was battling and competing.”
More than anything, Simeone believes the fight his team put up indicates both the talent and mindset present on the Pride’s roster. What he saw throughout Tuesday’s game has him feeling encouraged as the season ramps up and conference matchups become more frequent.
“I think that was a great college baseball game,” Simeone said. “I can’t wait to get back out here [tomorrow]. That’s the thing I said with the group in left field [after the game]: ‘I can’t wait to get back in with this team in the dugout tomorrow [with] the way we competed today. [Going forward], we’ll give anybody hell, and we’ll give everybody a tough, tough battle if we come together and compete like that.”
Tomorrow’s matchup is a non-conference game against Keene State, set to be played on Archie Allen Field at 3:30 p.m.