MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomore Robert Kelly (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) homered and tossed seven scoreless innings, and junior Daniel DeCoste (Chelmsford, Mass.) smacked a grand slam to lead the Saint Anselm College baseball team to a sweep of Saturday afternoon's doubleheader against Pace University at Sullivan Park. The Hawks won the first game, 3-0, before taking the second game, 7-3.
The Hawks improve to 13-14 on the season, including 5-7 in Northeast-10 play, while the Setters dropped to 10-16-1, 4-8 NE-10.
Saint Anselm grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning of game one when senior TJ Murphy (Reading, Mass.) hit a two-out single to right-center that scored Kelly. The Hawks made it 2-0 in the fifth when Kelly led off the inning with a solo home run to center. Kelly made it 3-0 an inning later when he drew a bases-loaded walk.
That was all Kelly (4-2) would need as he went seven innings, scattering five hits, walking two and striking out four. Junior Timothy Cooney (East Bridgewater, Mass.) tossed the final two scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out one to earn his first save.
Kelly finished 1-for-2 with a home run, a pair of walks, two RBI and two runs scored. Murphy went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
After Pace went ahead 1-0 in the first inning of game two, Saint Anselm tied it in the second when junior Jeffrey Criscuolo (Durham, Conn.) laid down a perfect squeeze bunt that scored DeCoste, who led off the inning with a double to center.
Saint Anselm went ahead 3-1 in the third when senior James Garrigan (Plymouth, Mass.) doubled to left and then scored on a two-run blast to straightaway centerfield by classmate Matt Sucharewicz (Peabody, Mass.).
Pace scored two in the top of the fifth to knot the game at three, but the Hawks quickly untied it in the bottom half of the inning on the grand slam by DeCoste. After back-to-back singles by freshman Tito Lluberes (Lawrence, Mass.) and Garrigan, followed by a walk to Kelly, DeCoste took the first pitch he saw and deposited it over the centerfield fence to make it 7-3.
Junior Sean Hayden (Haverhill, Mass.), who improved to a perfect 4-0 this season, pitched the first six innings, allowing three runs – two earned – on seven hits. He struck out three and walked one. Sophomore James Farrington (West Milford, N.J.) tossed three hitless innings, striking out three and walking just one to pick up his second save of the season.
Garrigan went a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs scored, while DeCoste was 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBI and two runs scored.
The Hawks return to action Sunday, April 10 (12/3 p.m.) when they play host to Merrimack College at Sullivan Park.
