MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomore Robert Kelly (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) allowed just one run in a complete-game effort, while senior Matt Sucharewicz (Peabody, Mass.) and junior Daniel DeCoste (Chelmsford, Mass.) each drove in a run as the Saint Anselm College baseball team recorded a 2-1 victory against Stonehill College on Friday afternoon at Sullivan Park on Senior Day.
The Hawks, who lost at Stonehill, 5-4, Tuesday on a walk-off suicide squeeze, improve to 20-20 on the season, including 10-11 in Northeast-10 play. The Skyhawks fall to 28-13, 11-8 NE-10.
Stonehill grabbed the early lead in the top of the second when Mike Magnussen homered on Kelly's second pitch of the inning to make it 1-0. Saint Anselm tied it in the third when Sucharewicz hit a two-out single to right-center that scored classmate James Garrigan (Plymouth, Mass.).
The game remained tied at one until the bottom of the seventh when the Hawks loaded the bases with one out. Freshman Tito Lluberes (Lawrence, Mass.) singled and later moved to third on Kelly's double down the right field line. After Sucharewicz was intentionally walked, DeCoste reached on a fielder's choice groundout that pushed Saint Anselm's second run of the game across the plate.
Kelly then retired six of the final seven batters he faced, allowing the lead-off man in the ninth to reach on an error before he was caught stealing. Senior TJ Murphy (Reading, Mass.) corralled the final two outs with a pair of spectacular diving catches on liners to center.
Kelly (6-2) gave up one run and scattered seven hits over nine innings, while striking out eight and walking three. Paired with Wednesday's pitching performance by junior Timothy Cooney (East Bridgewater, Mass.), the Hawks have now thrown consecutive complete games with only one run allowed. Over the last 18 innings, Cooney and Kelly have combined to allow two runs on 13 hits to go along with 16 strikeouts and just four walks.
Eric Haughn pitched well for the Skyhawks, tossing 61/3 innings and allowing two runs on nine hits, while striking out three and walking five. Michael Von Stein pitched 12/3 hitless innings in relief.
Sucharewicz and Kelly each went 2-for-3.
Seniors Steven Panza (Watertown, Mass.), Kyle Lavin (Shelton, Conn.), Sucharewicz, Garrigan and Murphy were all honored prior to the start of the game.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, April 30 (12/3 p.m.) when they travel to take on Assumption College in doubleheader action.
