CARY, N.C. – The Saint Anselm College baseball team grabbed its fifth consecutive win and seventh in the last eight games on Monday, Mar. 14, downing Dominican (N.Y.) College by a 12-7 score from the USA Baseball Training Complex in Cary, N.C.
The Hawks, who are receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association East Region Poll, improve to 7-6 on the season while the Chargers fall to 2-10 on their 2022 campaign. Saint Anselm continues its trip in North Carolina as the team is back in action on Wednesday, Mar. 16 at Greensboro College.
Graduate student
Salvatore Pezzolla (East Greenbush, N.Y.) and senior
Kyle Maurice (Exeter, N.H.) drove in three runs each for the Hawks. Pezzolla led the Hawks offense with three hits while Maurice and sophomore
Zack Clough (Newbury, Mass.) netted two hits each. As team, Saint Anselm drew nine walks with junior
Brady Doran (Greenville, S.C.), senior
Enzo Merlonghi (Monroe, Conn.), and Clough drawing two walks each.
Sophomore
Matthew Michel (Haverhill, Mass.) started the contest on the mound for the Hawks while junior
Harry MacKinlay (Norwell, Mass.), senior
Shawn Morrow (Melrose, Mass.), junior
Travis MacMurdo (Tewksbury, Mass.), and freshman
Zachary Abbott (Gloucester, Mass.) all saw action on the mound. Abbott collected his first collegiate win after closing the contest with 1.1 innings pitched and allowing just two hits.
After Dominican tied the contest at seven in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Hawks put up five runs in the top of the ninth on their way to the 12-7 win. Merlonghi drew a one-out walk before Doran and Clough were awarded free passes via walk and hit by pitch. Pezzolla doubled home two runs before Maurice added a two-run double of his own before Maurice capped the scoring on an error, giving the Hawks a 12-7 advantage headed to the bottom of the ninth.
Abbott would get the leadoff batter to flyout but a walk from
Shane Hewllette made things interesting as he would make it to third on a two-out double by
Ethan Sarmiento. However, a fly out to center field closed the contest giving the Hawks a four-game sweep of the Chargers.
Earlier in the contest, the Hawks would strike first in the top of the first inning as senior
Mike Pierro (North Andover, Mass.) doubled with the bases loaded, plating Clough and Maurice to give Saint Anselm a 2-0 lead.
Dominican responded with a two-run single in the bottom of the second as two hit by pitches and a single set up a bases loaded chance for Sarmiento. Sarmiento's single brought home Hewlette and
Ryan Garbuio, making the score 2-2 through two innings of play.
Saint Anselm quickly regained the lead in the top of the third as Clough and Pezzolla walked and singled to lead off the inning. They would make their way to second and third for Elmore who brought home Clough with a single and Pezzolla would score on a passed ball which gave the Hawks a 4-2 edge.
The Chargers responded once again, this time taking the lead as Garbuio launched a three-run home run to give Dominican a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the third.
Christian Fils-Aime and
Richard Paulino reached base ahead of Garbuio when both were hit by pitches.
Max Chidsey would score for Dominican in the bottom of the fourth on wild pitch which brought the score to 6-4 for the Chargers.
A three-run top of the eighth inning gave the Hawks a 7-6 lead as Merlonghi reached on an error to lead off the inning before Clough doubled to put runners on second and third. Pezzolla would single driving in Merlonghi. Maurice followed Pezzolla with a single of his own to bring home Clough. Freshman
Danny Kent (Whitman, Mass.) recorded a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded to score Pezzolla for the Saint Anselm three-run inning.
However, the Chargers rallied and tied the score in the bottom half as a leadoff double by Sarmiento put Dominican in business. Chidsey would lay down a bunt and reach on a throwing error, allowing Sarmiento to score from second and tie the game at seven.
