MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College baseball team closed out its regular-season series with Saint Michael's on Saturday, completing the four-game sweep with a 2-1 win in the opener before slugging its way to a 13-6 win in game two.
Saint Anselm has won four Northeast-10 Conference games in a row for just the first time since the 2013 season, improving to 10-11 on the season and to 5-9 against league opponents. Saint Michael's has lost 13 games in a row, falling to 1-16 on the season and to 1-15 in the NE10.
Junior Matt Collins (Beverly, Mass.) lined a walk-off single in game one, propelling Saint Anselm to a narrow victory to open the day. A big seven-run inning in game two was the difference-maker for the home team, snapping a 3-3 tie to clinch the victory.
Junior Mike Pierro (North Andover, Mass.) was the offensive star for Saint Anselm in the Saint Michael's four-game series, slugging four home runs and batting .500 with seven hits in 14 at-bats. Collectively, the Hawks stroked nine home runs in the four games to give them 32 on the season – that mark is the fourth-best in team history.
Saint Anselm honored its seven senior student-athletes with a pre-game ceremony, including seniors Ben Horsfall (Westborough, Mass.), Patrick Henning (Guilderland, N.Y.), Will Conaton (Windham, N.H.), Salvatore Pezzolla (East Greenbush, N.Y.), Max Silverman (Westford, Mass.), Brian Wojichowski (Portsmouth, R.I.) and Ryan Schworer (Medfield, Mass.).
Attempts are being made to reschedule postponed games from earlier this season for the upcoming week. Stay tuned to SaintAnselmHawks.com for the latest information.
GAME ONE – Saint Anselm 2, Saint Michael's 1
Saint Anselm jumped on the board first as Pierro lined a two-out solo shot to left field in the bottom of the first, creating a 1-0 advantage. From there, the Hawks were stymied by Saint Michael's starter Alex Mendez, who forced the Hawks to leave five men on base through the seventh inning.
Ryan Schworer pitched well for Saint Anselm, allowing no runs through the first six innings of the game. He ran into trouble in the top of the seventh as a lead-off single ultimately hurt the Hawks – after the baserunner stole second, the errant throw by the catcher allowed the runner to move to third base.
With a runner on third, Schworer was able to induce a pop-up to the first baseman for the inning's second out. Needing just one more out to secure the win, Matt Sevigny lofted a sacrifice fly to left field that just barely scored the runner – the throw by sophomore Mike Borrelli (Salisbury, Mass.) was on target, but the ball was hit just deep enough to plate the tying run.
With two quick outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, junior Dan Baker (Reading, Mass.) doubled down the left field line to put a runner on second. Not wanting to pitch to the Northeast-10's leading home run hitter, sophomore Brady Doran (Stony Brook, N.Y.), the Purple Knights walked him to get to Collins.
With the count at 1-1, Collins floated a single that fell just in front of the Saint Michael's left fielder to score Baker from second and win the game.
Mendez was the tough-luck loser, striking out eight batters and allowing only two runs. Schworer conceded just four hits and did not allow an earned run, striking out five batters for his second win of the 2021 campaign. John Luke Cianciolo led Saint Michael's with two hits.
GAME TWO – Saint Anselm 13, Saint Michael's 6
For the fourth consecutive game, the Hawks scored first in the bottom of the first inning. Junior Kyle Maurice (Exeter, N.H.) homered to left field with two outs, driving in Collins, who reached first base on a walk.
Saint Michael's scratched across one run in the top of the seventh as an RBI single by Mason Dushney cut into the Hawks lead, 2-1. Hawks starter Matthew Michel (Haverhill, Mass.) was able to leave the bases loaded to conclude the inning, getting a strikeout and a fielder's choice groundout to escape.
A fielding error by the Purple Knights in the bottom of the second inning paid off for Saint Anselm, who upped its lead to 3-1 as a Doran grounder was not fielded cleanly by Dushney. The Hawks could not score additional runs in the stanza as the Purple Knights' Joe Favicchio left two Saint Anselm baserunners on to conclude the inning.
The guests tied the game in the top of the third, doing all of the damage with two outs. Danté Moran doubled down the left field line and ultimately came around to score on the first collegiate hit for Matt Sevigny. The Purple Knights also took advantage of a Hawks fielding miscue, tying the game at three before the third out of the inning was recorded.
A seven-run fourth inning for Saint Anselm put the game away. In total, the Hawks generated four this and also drew four walks, including one to lead off the inning and two with the bases loaded. Collins added yet another RBI single, this time driving in two runners with one out in the inning to start the scoring.
Saint Anselm scored its 11th run of the game in the bottom of the fifth as freshman Zack Clough (Newbury, Mass.) hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Maurice from third base after he swiped two bags to get there.
Saint Michael's scored three runs in the top of the seventh without the benefit of a hit – the Purple Knights used a wild pitch, a passed ball and a throwing error by the Hawks to cut the lead to 11-6 with nine outs left in the game.
The Hawks responded after the shaky inning, scoring two more runs down the stretch. Junior Nick Berry (Beverly, Mass.) stole third base on the Purple Knights in the bottom of the seventh, scoring on an errant throw by the catcher, before a Doran RBI single in the home half of the eighth brought the score to 13-6.
Michel lasted just three-and-two-thirds innings, giving up eight hits and striking out five batters. Sophomore Avery Mosseau (Bedford, N.H.) picked up the win, throwing two-and-a-third scoreless relief innings. Juniors Shawn Morrow (Melrose, Mass.) and Taylor French (Goffstown, N.H.) also threw scoreless relief innings, with Morrow firing two innings and striking out four batters.
Saint Michael's rapped 10 hits in the second game, but the pitching staff allowed 13 runs, 11 earned, and walked nine Saint Anselm batters. Favicchio drew the loss, giving up six earned runs in the game's first three-and-a-third innings.
