Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 GAME 1 BOX SCORE | GAME 2 BOX SCORE
When and Where: March 3, 2018 – Northborough, Mass. (New England Baseball Complex)
Game 1 Score: Southern New Hampshire University 6, Saint Michael's College 4
Game 2 Score: Southern New Hampshire University 11, Saint Michael's College 0
Records: SNHU 7-0, Saint Michael's 0-4
Redshirt-senior Ryan Sullivan (Hopkinton, Mass.) went 3-for-7 with a home run, three RBI and four runs scored, as the 11th-ranked Southern New Hampshire University baseball team took a pair of games from Saint Michael's College on Saturday at the New England Baseball Complex. SNHU rallied for a 6-4 win in game one, before rolling to an 11-0, seven-inning victory in the second game.
Senior Caleb Potter (Mentor, Ohio) was 4-for-8 with an RBI and two runs scored in the doubleheader, while sophomore Phoenix Hernandez (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was 3-for-6 with a pair of RBI and a run. Sophomore Tom Blandini (Bow, N.H.) knocked in three runs and scored one, finishing 2-for-7.
Saint Michael's drew first blood in game one, snapping a scoreless deadlock in the top of the fifth inning when Connor Hopkins singled off junior Matthew Messier (No. Troy, Vt.) to make it 1-0.
Southern New Hampshire would tie it in the bottom of the sixth when Potter led off with a double and scored two batters later on a double from Hernandez.
The Penmen struck for five in the seventh, taking a 2-1 lead after redshirt-junior John Stanton (Sandwich, Mass.) led off with a walk, went to second on Sullivan's single and scored when Potter flew out to the centerfielder, who then overthrew the third baseman in an attempt to get Stanton. A two-out RBI single from Hernandez, followed by run-scoring doubles from sophomore Ethan Harris (Middleton, Mass.) and senior Kyle Pangallo (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), as well as an RBI base hit from graduate student Thomas Buonopane (Peabody, Mass.), capped the damage that brought the score to 6-1.
Saint Michael's pulled within a pair after scoring three times on RBI singles from Dante Moran, Trevor Allen and Sean Winthrop in the eighth off senior Ivon Clough (Dublin, N.H.). Freshman Jeffrey Praml (Bridgewater, N.J.), who recorded the final two outs of the frame via the 4-6-3 double play, tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to finish it off.
Messier (2-0) allowed one run on four hits, while striking out 10 and walking two, over seven innings of work. Clough relinquished three runs on five hits in a third of an inning, while Praml picked up his first save with two punchouts over an inning-and-two-thirds of perfect work.
Hernandez finished 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored, while Pangallo (RBI, run) and Buonopane were both 2-for-4. Potter was 2-for-5 with a run.
Southern New Hampshire jumped on Saint Michael's in the bottom of the first inning of game two, with Stanton's RBI single making it 1-0 before Sullivan's two-run homer gave the Penmen a three-run lead after one.
Blandini delivered the big blow in a five-run second, clearing the packed bases with a triple that doubled the lead to 6-0. A two-out RBI single from Sullivan plated Blandini before a bases-loaded walk to sophomore Jake Coro (Johnston, R.I.) made it 8-0.
Potter's RBI double and a two-out, run-scoring single from freshman Dakota Mulcay (Goffstown, N.H.) in the fourth extended the Penmen lead to an even 10-0, before an RBI knock from freshman Sam Henrie (Middleboro, Mass.) capped the scoring in the fifth.
Junior starter Endy Morales (Holyoke, Mass.) cruised through five innings before giving way to the bullpen. Morales (1-0) allowed just a single hit over five innings of shutout ball, fanning eight and walking four. Junior Hayden Manning (Portland, Conn.) struck out one in a scoreless inning, while redshirt-freshman Tucker Hetherman (Charlton, Mass.) did the same, giving up one hit.
Sullivan was 2-for-2 with three RBI and three runs scored, while Potter was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Mulcay went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, an RBI and a run scored, with Blandini (three RBI) and freshman Idelson Taveras (Lawrence, Mass.; walk, two runs) each going 1-for-3.
Notes:
- Southern New Hampshire begins the season 7-0 for the second time in three years.
- The RBI single for Mulcay in the fifth was his first career hit and RBI.
- Sullivan and Stanton have hit safely in all seven games this season, while Potter is riding a five-game hitting streak.
Up Next:
The Penmen return to action Sunday, March 4 (12 p.m.) when they head back to the New England Baseball Complex for a doubleheader against 15th-ranked West Chester University.
For the latest on Southern New Hampshire University athletics, follow the Penmen via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Instagram. Sign up to receive text message alerts and e-mail newsletters about your favorite Penmen teams here.
