March 8, 2009
BULLDOGS TAKE TWO FROM DELAWARE
STATE 14-1 AND 6-2 IN DOUBLE-HEADER SUNDAY; FINISH THREE-GAME
SWEEP
Boxscore Game 1
Boxscore Game 2
DOVER, DEL. - The Bryant University baseball team took both
games of a double-header over Delaware State, cruising to a
three-game sweep over the Hornets with 14-1 and 6-2 wins on Sunday.
The Bulldogs outscored DSU 36-10 over the three games and have now
won three-straight since dropping their first two Division I games.
Pitching was the story of the afternoon, as junior starting
pitcher Eric Polvani (Wallingford, Conn.) was
dominant in the first game of the day, throwing a complete game,
striking out five while allowing just six hits and one unearned run
in seven innings to pick up his first win of the year. The lone
tally for the Hornets came in the bottom of the seventh on an error
in the outfield. Sophomore John Michael Ryan (Worcester,
Mass.) was just as good in game two, going the distance
while allowing two runs, one earned, on six hits and striking out
seven.
The Bulldogs got on the board in the top of the first, scoring
two runs in the frame getting a solo homer from Pat
O'Connor (Mattapoisett, Mass.) and an RBI groundout from
Nick Campbell (Raynham, Mass.). Campbell had three
hits in the game while driving home three.
A six-run fourth inning opened the game up for Bryant, putting
the Hornets in a 9-0 hole. Senior catcher Jeff Vigurs
(South Windsor, Conn.) highlighted the inning with a bases
loaded double, driving home three runs. Vigurs was four-for-five on
the day with seven RBI while hitting three doubles.
Bryant would plate two more times in the sixth while getting
another three-run double from Vigurs in the seventh to finish out
the scoring. The team had 11 hits in the contest, following up a 19
hit performance on Saturday.
In game two, the Bulldogs fell behind for the first time in the
series, as the Hornets got a solo homerun from Justin Bittner and
an RBI single from James Johnson to take a 2-0 lead in the bottom
of the third.
Ryan would shut Delaware State down for the rest of the game,
making a four-run rally from Bryant in the fifth inning stand-up to
get his first win of the year. Senior captain Pat McKenna
(Orange, Conn.) was the offensive hero, stepping to the
plate with two on and nobody out in the fifth and cranking a
three-run homer down the right field line to give the Bulldogs a
3-2 lead. Vigurs added on a run with an RBI on a ground-rule double
later in the inning.
Two more runs in the top of the seventh gave Bryant some
insurance, as Vigurs got his ninth RBI of the day with a single up
the middle and Tim Norton (Barnstable, Mass.)
doubled in a run, giving the Bulldogs a 6-2 victory.
It was the first three-game sweep for Bryant as a Division I
program. The squad will look to extend their winning to streak to
four when they take on Virginia Tech and Radford in a twin bill on
Monday (3 p.m. and 6 p.m.).
