'Nadoes notch sweep; Hudson's Jacobs makes pro debut.

• Position: SPORTS

Byline: John McGuirk

WORCESTER - Positives have become such a rare occurrence with the Tornadoes this season, when one comes along it must be treated like gold. Which is why Worcester was so excited about finishing its first doubleheader sweep of the season last night, beating Rockland, 6-5 and 3-2, at Hanover Insurance Park.

The Tornadoes won the opener in the seventh, when Jerod Edmondson grounded a single up the middle to drive in Cam Kneeland for the walk-off run. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak.

"I was just trying to get something to hit," said Edmondson. "I figured if (Johnson) could give me something early in the count then I'd be alright. We've been playing good ball but just getting nipped here and there. Rockland is a good team and are in the playoff race right now so these are great wins for us."

Worcester, playing with a staggering 16 rookies, jumped on Boulders starter Pat Moran (5-1/3 innings, 5 runs, 11 hits, 4 strikeouts) for two runs in the first. Mike Gedman's RBI single put the Tornadoes up and then former Hudson High standout Matt Jacobs singled to left to drive in Ryan Brockett in his first Can-Am League at-bat. Jacobs, who played at UMass-Lowell, was signed on Saturday and made his professional debut yesterday.

After Rockland tied it in the second, Worcester jumped back up in the fourth when Jacobs singled and scored on an error and Tony Patane scored on a groundout.

Tornadoes' starter Kevin Cooper allowed just one hit over the first four innings, but gave up three runs in the fifth as Rockland took a 5-4 lead. However the Tornadoes fought back in the bottom of the fifth, with Kneeland singling in Gedman to tie the game.

In the nightcap, Patane's solo home run in the fifth gave Worcester the lead for...