Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 GAME 1 BOX SCORE | GAME 2 BOX SCORE
When and Where: February 26, 2016 – Myrtle Beach, S.C. (Ripken Experience)
Game 1 Score: Southern New Hampshire University 12, Dominican (N.Y.) College 3
Game 2 Score: Southern New Hampshire University 8, Dominican (N.Y.) College 6
Records: SNHU 2-0, Dominican 1-2
Graduate student Mike Mastroberti (Ramsey, N.J.) went 4-for-9 with four RBI and three runs scored, while junior Alex Person (Foxboro, Mass.) and sophomore Justin Valdespina (Garfield, N.J.) picked up wins on the mound to lead the 20th-ranked Southern New Hampshire University baseball team to a doubleheader sweep of Dominican (N.Y.) College on Friday in the team's season opener down in Myrtle Beach, S.C., at the Ripken Experience. The Penmen cruised to a 12-3 victory in game one and pulled out an 8-6 win in the second game.
The Chargers drew first blood in game one as they put up a pair of runs in the first against Person and pushed another across in the second to make it 3-0. SNHU jumped on the board when junior Derek Bauer (Millis, Mass.) walked in the second and scored on a passed ball. A three-run third, highlighted by RBI singles from junior Zach Goldstein (Merrick, N.Y.) and Mastroberti, put the Penmen in front, 4-3, after three.
Person would slam the door from there as the offense took over. SNHU plated single runs in the fourth and seventh before breaking the game open with a six-run eighth inning in which Bauer delivered the big blow – a two-run homer – that along with triples from sophomore Taylor Olmstead (Greenwhich, Conn.) and Sean Webster (Boston, Mass.), as well as a two-run single by graduate student Ryan Gendron (Nashua, N.H.), put the game away.
Person (1-0) allowed three runs on four hits over 7.0 innings, while striking out three and walking a pair. Senior Ian Searles (Wareham, Mass.) and freshman Connor Gavin (E. Bridgewater, Mass.) each tossed a scoreless frame.
Mastroberti went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, while Bauer was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI and two runs scored. Webster batted 3-for-4 with an RBI and scored three times. Olmstead (run) and Gendron (two runs) were each 2-for-4.
Goldstein led off game two with a triple and after junior Manny Cruz (Wolcott, Conn.) was hit by a pitch, Mastroberti crushed a three-run homer to stake the Penmen to an early lead. Dominican would claim two back in the third before tying it in the fourth on an RBI single by Justin Decker.
With runners on first and second with one out in the fifth, Gendron grounded to second for what looked like it might be an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play, but he beat the throw at first, allowing Mastroberti, who began the trouble with a double, to score and snap the deadlock. The hustle play also extended the inning and allowed sophomore Andrew Lalonde (Bedford, N.H.) to follow with a two-run bomb that extended the Southern New Hampshire lead to 6-3.
An RBI double by Jordan Bernacet and a run-scoring single from Carlos Lopez made it a one-run game in the bottom of the inning, but a solo shot off the bat of freshman Robert Fulkerson (Anaheim, Calif.) in the sixth and an RBI double by Lalonde in the seventh provided SNHU with some insurance and an 8-5 lead heading into the final frame.
Sophomore Jake Walkinshaw (Seymour, Conn.) came on to earn the save in the seventh, despite giving up a run.
Valdespina (1-0) relinquished five runs on six hits, while fanning four and walking a pair over six innings. Walkinshaw (1) was charged with a run on one hit and a walk.
Mastroberti continued his torrid opener, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and a two runs scored. Lalonde also went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs, while also scoring a run.
Notes:
- The Penmen pounded out 11 hits in game one and collected eight hits in the second game.
Up Next:
The Penmen continue their South Carolina trip Saturday, Feb. 27 when they take on Wilmington (Del.) University (10 a.m.) and Nyack College (1 p.m.).
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