Eastern Connecticut Sweeps Saint Joseph's

Eastern Connecticut Sweeps Saint Joseph's

MANSFIELD, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team broke an early tie in the second game by scoring four times in the third inning – two on senior Jack Rich's (Meriden) first home run of the year – to post an 11-3 win over Saint Joseph's College (ME) and compete a non-conference doubleheader sweep Saturday afternoon at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.

In the second game, seniors Rich and Ryan Bagdasarian (Glastonbury) and junior Matt Malcom (East Lyme) all drove in two runs as the Warriors put up runs in five different innings as Eastern (3-0) improved to 15-2 all-time against Saint Joseph's (2-6) with its tenth straight win over the Monks.

In the first game, Eastern scored a single run in five different innings – erasing an early 3-1 deficit – to gain a 5-4 victory.

After SJC tied the second game with two runs in the top of the third on an RBI single by freshman leadoff hitter Dawson Gundlah and a ground ball, Eastern batted around in the third to score four runs on four this (the first three batters reached safely) and three walks to move out to a 6-2 lead, then outscored the Monks 5-1 the rest of the way. Rich's third career home run was a two-run blast and chased home senior John Mesagno (Tappan, NY), who had doubled to open the inning. A fielder's choice sent in the third run and Bagdasarian's two-out single made it 6-2.

Freshman righty Nolan Lincoln (Londonderry, NH) was credited with his second win in his second relief appearance in the second game, fanning three and allowing only one hit in two innings as the second of five pitchers. Senior right-hander John Parker (Brunswick, ME) struck out four in two scoreless innings later in the game, giving up only one hit (to his first batter).

In the first contest, Second-year righty pitcher Josh Vincent (New London) won his first decision as a reliever in his third career outing by limiting SJC to one run and five hits over the final five innings as the Warriors defeated the Monks for the ninth straight time.

Eastern tied the game with an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double by senior Holden White (Wallingford) and took its first lead with another unearned run in the fifth on a two-out RBI triple by senior cleanup batter Luke Broadhurst (Stafford).

Vincent (1-0) was credited with the win after entering a tied game in the top of the fifth. Vincent shut out the Monks through his first four innings before No. 9 hitter Zach Miles drew a leadoff walk in the ninth and was driven in from third on a single by No. 3 hitter Ben Gravel.

Junior righty Zach Player (East Hampton) pitched into the third inning  and was lifted after allowing three hits and a walk while SJC was scoring three runs to take a 3-1 lead. Senior righty Bryan Albee (Killingly) walked two but got the final two outs of the inning and pitched a 1-2-3 fourth before giving way to Vincent to start the fifth with the score tied.

Broadhurst drove in two runs with two hits, Malcom had two hits, scored three runs and drove in a run, and White had three hits and his fourth-inning game-tying RBI double.

Led by Gravel (three hits, a run, RBI), the top four hitters in the SJC lineup combined for eight of the team's nine hits and three of its runs and drove in two of its runs. Gundlah and graduate student Drew Healey each had two hits.

Saint Joseph's will host Colby College tomorrow in a non-conference doubleheader starting at 12:00 PM.

 

COURTESY OF EASTERN CONNECTICUT SPORTS INFORMATION

 

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Founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy in Portland, Maine, Saint Joseph’s College is Maine’s Catholic liberal arts college in the Mercy tradition. We are inclusive of all faiths, including no faith. The 474-acre campus, located on the shore of Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine offers more than 40 undergraduate programs and a Division III athletic program to a population of approximately 1,000 on-campus students. A pioneer of distance education since the 1970s, the College also provides online certificates and undergraduate and graduate degrees for thousands more working adults who reside in more than 20 other countries. In 2015 the College was selected by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to receive its Community Engagement Classification, highlighting the College’s focus on community service throughout its mission and daily interactions within local, regional, and global communities. In 2018, Princeton Review recognized SJC as one of its “Green Colleges” for its sustainability initiatives. Learn more at www.sjcme.edu.