GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – Sophomores Joe Morin (Salem, N.H.) and Mike Hayden (Cranston, R.I.) drove in four and three runs, respectively, and senior William O'Connor (Worcester, Mass.) and sophomore David Kent (North Falmouth, Mass.) each recorded wins as the Saint Anselm College baseball team earned a pair of wins against Adelphi University on Saturday afternoon in both teams' Northeast-10 openers at Bonomo Field. The Hawks took the first game, 10-7, in 12 innings before posting a 9-6 victory in the second game.
The Hawks win their fourth straight to improve to 6-9-1 on the season and move to 2-0 in Northeast-10 play after the pair of out-of-division contests. The Panthers dip to 7-7-1, 0-2 NE-10.
In game one, the Hawks jumped on the board first when junior Kyle Grumoli (South Hadley, Mass.) drew a one-out walk and was driven in on a double to right-center by senior Robert Kelly (Aurora, Colo.). Kelly then moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout to third by Hayden that made it 2-0.
In the bottom of the frame, Adelphi loaded the bases against senior James Farrington (West Milford, N.J.), but only received an RBI single from Nick Zito and left the bases packed. The Panthers would load the bases again in the third and get a pair of runs – one on a wild pitch and another on a Zito single to right – that put Adelphi in front, 3-2.
Saint Anselm put together its biggest inning of the contest by pushing across four runs in the fifth. After two outs to begin the inning, a Hayden walk kicked off the two-out rally as the Hawks loaded the bases. Senior Rett Ostafin (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) reached on an error to plate the first run before a single by Morin put the Hawks back on top, 4-3. Classmate Bobby Carkhuff (Amherst, Mass.) followed with a two-run single through the left side that opened the lead to 6-3.
Adelphi sliced its deficit to one in the seventh on a two-out, pinch-hit single up the middle by Kevin Hutzel. The Hawks grabbed one of those back in the top of the eighth when senior Richie Manzi (Plymouth, N.H.) led off the inning with a single to center, moved to second on a passed ball, advanced to third on a fly out to right by Grumoli and – after back-to-back hit batsmen – scored on a bad pickoff throw to first.
The Panthers knotted things at seven in the bottom half of the eighth when Anthony Zarrella hit a one-out, two-run homer to right.
After both teams went 1-2-3 in the ninth, the Hawks loaded the bases in the 10th, but did not score. Adelphi went in order again in the bottom of the inning with Saint Anselm leaving two more in the 11th. The Panthers would get one into scoring position in the bottom half, but left him stranded.
The Hawks finally broke through in the 12th, starting things with a one-out single through the right side by junior Dan Lagasse (Londonderry, N.H.), who stole second before a walk to Ostafin put a pair on. The two runners moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch, followed by a Morin walk that loaded the bases. All three runners would score on wild pitches to put Saint Anselm up, 10-7.
Adelphi received a two-out single in the bottom of the frame, but did not seriously threaten.
O'Connor turned in his second straight four-inning shutout to earn the win. O'Connor (1-0) allowed just one hit, while striking out one and walking one. Farrington allowed five runs on eight hits, while walking five and striking out four through the first six innings. Junior Zachary Brian (Stoneham, Mass.) gave up a run on a hit to go along with a walk and a strikeout in one-plus inning of work. Freshman Terrence Walsh (Milton, Mass.) also threw an inning and was charged with a run on a pair of hits.
Lagasse was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Kelly (RBI, R) and freshman Allan McQuarrie (Salem, N.H.) were each 2-for-5.
The Hawks soared out to an early lead in the second game as they put three on the board. Manzi, Grumoli and Kelly began the contest with singles before Hayden smacked a single of his own up the middle that plated a pair. After two straight outs, Morin came through with a base knock to right that brought in Kelly to make it 3-0.
Adelphi earned two back in the bottom of the inning on a Zarrella double to right and a sac fly to left by Vinny Gaetano. The Panthers put two more on the board in the second to take a 4-3 lead on an RBI groundout from Ray Triano and an RBI single from Brandon Stahl.
Saint Anselm answered with a four-run third that gave the Hawks the lead for good. Kelly began the inning by walking and moving to second on a wild pitch before a Hayden double pushed him to third. After Lagasse walked to load the bases, back-to-back outs, including a Morin groundout, produced a run that tied it at four. Freshman Tom Murphy (Chelmsford, Mass.) then drew a walk to re-load the bases, setting up a two-run single by freshman Ken Morrisino (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and an RBI single by Manzi that made it 7-4.
The Hawks tacked on two more in the fourth on an RBI double by Lagasse and another run-scoring single from Morin. Adelphi cut into the lead in the seventh on an RBI double from Stahl, who then scored on Donato Signore's triple. That was as close as Adelphi would get, however, as Kent and freshman Paul Trabucco (Salem, N.H.) shut the door the rest of the way.
Kent (3-0) went the first eight innings and allowed six runs – three earned – on eight hits, while striking out six and not walking a batter. Trabucco tossed a hitless ninth, with a walk and a strikeout mixed in, for his second save.
Hayden went 3-for-5, drove in two runs and scored a pair. Lagasse (RBI, 2 R) and Morrisino (2 RBI) were both 2-for-4, while Morin (3 RBI), Manzi (RBI, R) and Grumoli (R) were each 2-for-5.
The Hawks return to action Sunday, March 24 at Pace University in doubleheader action that begins at noon. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter @STAHawks.
