MILTON, Mass. – Third-seeded Curry College topped visiting #4 seed Gordon College, 4-1, on the opening day of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Baseball Tournament  Thursday afternoon in Milton.

With the victory, the Colonels improve to 20-12 on the season and will host #5 Roger Williams University tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m. in Milton. The Hawks were a 6-5 winner over #2 Western New England. Also tomorrow at 3:00 p.m., Gordon (15-18-1) will host sixth-seeded Salve Regina, a 2-0 winner over top-seeded Endicott.

The scoring began in the bottom of the second inning when sophomore Nick Crivello (Blackstone, Mass.) singled to the shortstop. Freshman William De La Cruz (Bronx, N.Y.) followed with a walk, advancing Crivello to second. Sophomore Alex McLean (Eliot, Maine) followed De La Cruz with a double, plating Crivello and giving Curry an early lead of 1-0.

In the home half of the fifth, McLean doubled again to left field starting things for the Colonels. He advanced to third on a throwing error by senior starting pitcher Wesley Arning (Murfreesboro, Tenn.). Senior John Arens (Milton, Mass.) then brought McLean home with a single up the middle.

Gordon responded in the following half inning with junior Eric Walker (Danvers, Mass.) singling to start things up. Sophomore Dean Demers (Sandy Hook, Conn.) followed with a single of his own putting runners on first and second. Senior Travis Pullen (Las Vegas, Nev.) brought Walker home with the third-straight single for the Fighting Scots, closing the score to 2-1 in favor of Curry.

In the bottom of the seventh, McLean provided another double, his third on the day, to start things for the Colonels. One out later, senior Derek Pizarro (Cambridge, Mass.) singled down the left field line, plating McLean.

Curry would tack on another run an inning later on back-to-back doubles by Crivello and senior R.J. McCann (Brockton, Mass.).  

The Colonels would go onto win behind senior Thomas Fitzpatrick (South Boston, Mass.), who notched the victory after his eight-inning effort. He allowed one earned run on five hits while striking out seven. Sophomore Brian Burke (Swampscott, Mass.) would get the save after pitching the ninth inning and recording a strikeout.

Arning would go the distance for Gordon, but took the loss, giving up all four earned runs on 10 hits and a walk while fanning three.