Springfield, Mass. (April 8) -- Thanks to an RBI triple from Adam Hussey (Danvers, Mass.) in the seventh inning, Saint Anselm defeated American International 2-1 on Tuesday afternoon in Springfield, Mass. With the win, the Hawks improve to 8-16, 4-9 in Northeast-10 play. With the loss, American International drops to 7-15, 5-6 in league play.

The Hawks struck with a single run in the top of the second, as Ryan O'Rourke (Norwood, Mass.) singled and Ben Gunn (Vineyard Haven, Mass.) walked to put runners on first and second with one out. Conor Amirault (Haverhill, Mass.) then singled to bring in O'Rourke as the Hawks drew first blood in the contest.

The Yellow Jackets responded with a single run in the third. After Herb Coggeshall (Coventry, Conn.) walked and advanced to second on a fielder's choice, Jason Rustico (Plantsville, Conn.) brought him in with an RBI single.

Neither team scored until the seventh, when Evan Kelleher (Haverhill, Mass.) singled to open the inning. After a botched sacrifice bunt attempt failed to move Kelleher up, Hussey delivered a triple down the left field line to bring in Kelleher.

Hawks' starting pitcher, Nick Barese (Braintree, Mass.), tossed eight innings en route to improving his record to 3-1 on the mound. Barese allowed just four hits and one run while striking out seven. David Giarrusso (Cranston, R.I.) pitched a perfect ninth inning with a strikeout to pick up his fifth save of the season.

Nick Noblit (Westfield, Mass.) pitched seven solid innings for the Yellow Jackets allowing two runs on six hits while striking out nine, but picked up the loss to drop his record to 0-4 on the hill. Dan Nugent (Cambridge, Mass.) and Sean Stevenson (Holyoke, Mass.) combined in two innings of scoreless relief.

The Hawks are back on the diamond tomorrow, hosting Saint Rose at 3:30 at Sullivan Park.