March 22, 2008
BRYANT BASEBALL SWEEPS BENTLEY TO OPEN CONFERENCE SCHEDULE IN
SATURDAY AFTERNOON DOUBLEHEADER
Game 1 / Game 2
WALTHAM, Mass. - The Bryant University baseball team kicked off
its Northeast-10 Conference schedule Saturday afternoon, sweeping
rival Bentley College in a Saturday afternoon doubleheader, 8-7 and
3-1.
The day started off with a seven-inning effort from senior
All-American righty Eric Loh (Old Greenwich,
Conn.), who got the win in Game 1. But it was Bentley
(6-3, 1-3 NE-10) who got the day's scoring started in the bottom of
the second, when a Ross Curley single drove in Mike DeCoste to go
up 1-0, making Loh pay for DeCoste's two-out walk two batters
earlier.
Bryant (12-9, 2-0) would come back with two in the top of the
third, when sophomore Jeff Vigurs (South Windor,
Conn.) singled to right to plate Dylan Stone
(Portsmouth, RI), who drew a one-out walk. The hit moved
sophomore Nick Campbell (Raynham, Mass.) to third,
but he wouldn't stay there long.
A Pat McKenna (Orange, Conn.) single to left
field scored the Bulldogs' second run for a 2-1 lead entering the
bottom of the third.
But the Falcons responded in their half of the inning, matching
Bryant's two runs to retake a 3-2 advantage.
Senior captain Jason Alexander (Simsbury,
Conn.) evened the score for the Bulldogs in the fourth
with a double to left centerfield, scoring Mark Dondero
(Medfield, Mass.), who led off the inning with a long
single.
The scoring on both sides would stop, with the score knotted at
3-3, until the top of the eighth, when the Bulldogs exploded for a
five-run inning off just one hit to up the score to 8-3.
With one out and runners on the corners, Bentley starter Jarrod
Marchesi handed out back-to-back walks Alexander and Stone to load
the bases and then walk in the first run of the inning. With the
bags still full, Campbell found first on an infield error, taking
second on the miscue to send two more across home plate.
Brett Fistes came on to relieve the Falcons' starter, but a pair
of wild pitches scored two more before he was able to strike out
Pat O'Connor (Mattapoisett, Mass.) to get out of
the inning.
But the damage was done. Bentley came back for four in the
bottom of the ninth on a pair of hits but could not make up the
difference, falling to the Bulldogs for the fourth time this
season, 8-7.
Loh moves to 4-0 on the year with the win, giving up three runs
off nine hits in seven innings. Eric Polvani (Wallingford,
Conn.) picked up his second save of the season. Marchesi
took the loss for the Falcons, throwing 7.2 innings and allowing
eight runs off nine hits to move to 2-2 on the year.
In the second game at DeFelice Field Saturday, Bryant scored a
run in each of the first three innings and held the home team five
hits and just one run to sweep the day, 3-1.
O'Connor singled in the first to score Alexander in the first
and then crossed the plate himself in the third off a
Taylor Ferguson (Charlton, Mass.) single for the
3-1 the win, with the Bulldogs' second run coming off a Stone
double in the second.
Kevin Cobb (Acton, Mass.) tossed an
eight-inning gem in the winning effort, allowing just one run off
four hits and giving up two walks to move his record to 3-2 on the
season. Polvani again came on in the ninth for the save, his third
of the year.
Ricardo Sullivan (1-1) took the loss for Bentley, giving up
three runs off 11 hits in a complete-game effort.
Stone and O'Connor led the Bulldogs on the day, both going
3-for-7 from the plate and combining for a trio of RBI and a trio
of runs scored.
Bryant and Bentley close out their 2008 regular-season series,
Monday, March 24, when the Falcons come to Smithfield, RI to try to
avoid a season sweep. First pitch is 3:30 p.m.
--
GAME 1: BRYANT 8, BENTLEY 7
Bryant 002 100
050 -- 8 10 1
Bentley 012 000
004 -- 7 12 2
WP - Loh (4-0); LP - Marchesi (2-2); SV - Polvani (2)
GAME 2: BRYANT 3, BENTLEY 1
Bryant (12-9,
2-0)
111 000 000 -- 3 11 2
Bentley (6-13,
1-3)
000 000 100 -- 1 5 1
WP - Cobb (3-2); LP - Sullivan (1-1); SV - Polvani (3)
