COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Saint Anselm College baseball team took both games of its Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division doubleheader at Saint Michael's College on Sunday by scores of 4-3 and 19-8.
The Hawks improve to 18-20 on the season and 11-9 in NE10 play while the Purple Knights fall to 3-24 overall and 2-12 in leagues games. Saint Anselm will host Stonehill College for their final conference series of the season next weekend, starting on Friday, Apr. 29 with a 3 p.m. first pitch from Sullivan Park.
For the first time in program history, Saint Anselm has posted a four-game sweep of a NE10 opponent on the road. Last spring, the Hawks posted their first home four-game sweep of a conference opponent, downing Saint Michael's in a pair of doubleheaders on Apr. 23 and Apr. 24 of 2021.
The 2022 squad has scored 256 runs this season which is fourth most in a single season. The team needs just one home run to tie the program record for single season home runs, which was set in 2001 at 45. Saint Anselm has also recorded 232 runs batted in this season which is fourth most in team annals.
The Hawks 18 wins this season are tied for seventh most in a single season, tying the 2013 squad who was the last to reach the mark. The last time a Saint Anselm team recorded 1at least 11 wins in a conference schedule came in 2013 when that team posted 13 wins.
Junior Brady Doran (Greenville, S.C.) led the Hawks in the doubleheader, batting .750 with six hits in eight at-bats. Doran drove in nine runs on the day and was one of five student-athletes to score three runs in the doubleheader. The junior went five-for-five in game two with eight runs batted in, both of which are career highs. Doran becomes the ninth student-athlete to record five hits in a single game. He needed a triple to hit for the cycle in game two.
Graduate student Salvatore Pezzolla (East Greenbush, N.Y.) posted four hits on the day while seniors Mike Pierro (North Andover, Mass.) and Matt Collins (Beverly, Mass.) and sophomore Zack Clough (Newbury, Mass.) each collected three hits.
Junior Harry MacKinlay (Norwell, Mass.) and sophomore Will Hunter (Middleton, Mass.) drew starts for the Hawks but recorded no decisions. Seniors Andy Grygorcewicz (Northampton, Mass.) and David Hunter (Middleton, Mass.) collected wins for the Hawks in relief. David Hunter led all Hawks pitchers with 5.2 innings pitched on the day. MacKinlay followed closely with five innings of work.
GAME ONE: Saint Anselm 4, Saint Michael's 3
Saint Michael's held a 2-1 lead headed to the top of the seventh inning and after a strikeout and a groundout, the Purple Knights needed one more out to close game one with a 2-1 win. However, Collins laced a single to left field to keep the contest alive. Clough was hit by a pitch which set up Pezzolla who doubled to plate both runners and give the Hawks a 3-2 lead. Senior Kyle Maurice (Exeter, N.H.) followed with a single to score Pezzolla and extend the advantage. A single by junior Mike Borrelli (Salisbury, Mass.) continued the Hawks pressure but a fly out closed the top of the seventh with the Hawks leading 4-2.
The Purple Knights would put a run on the board in the bottom of the seventh as Filly Santos drew a one-out walk. Danny Rickert came on to pinch run and advanced to third following a wild pitch and a throwing error. The Hawks committed another throwing error which plated Rickert to cut the lead to 4-3. However, junior Avery Mosseau (Bedford, N.H.) got a pop up and a ground out to close the contest and earn his third save of the season.
Earlier in game one, Saint Michael's struck first as John Luke Cianciolo singled to score Andrew Lanthier who walked to lead off the bottom of the first. Ulysses Luciano would score on the play as well, crossing the plate on a throwing error which gave the hosts a 2-0 lead early.
Saint Anselm scored its first run in the top of the fourth as Pierro doubled with one out. Pierro would score on a single by Doran, which pushed the score to 2-1.
In the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, MacKinlay and Grygorcewicz combined to allow just two Purple Knights baserunners to reach.
GAME TWO: Saint Anselm 19, Saint Michael's 8
The second game of the doubleheader opened as a back-and-forth battle as the Purple Knights put four runs on the board in the bottom of the first. Terence Moynihan singled before a Luciano walk brought Evan Balian to the plate. Balian singled to score Moynihan before consecutive errors plated two more runs. Anthony Santosuosso capped the scoring with a single, plating Brady Perron which gave the hosts a 4-0 lead.
Saint Anselm got a run back in the second inning as Pierro singled and advanced to second on a throwing error. Doran doubled to score Pierro, cutting into the deficit at 4-1.
The Hawks took the lead in the top of the third as they pushed across five runs in the frame. Clough opened the inning with a base hit. Maurice reached on an error before a Borrelli walk. Sophomore Nolan Elmore (Brentwood, N.H.) reached on an error which scored a run and Doran brought home two with a single. Senior Jack Dunklee (Wilbraham, Mass.) followed with a two-run single of his own, giving Saint Anselm a 6-4 advantage.
The Purple Knights regained the lead in the bottom of the inning as Santosuosso doubled to right center field to score Balian and Perron who reached via a single and a hit by pitch. Matt Sevigny brought home Santosuosso will a RBI base hit, giving Saint Michael's a 7-6 lead.
A sacrifice fly by Perron in the bottom of the fourth extended the Purple Knights lead to 8-6.
Saint Anselm took the lead back for good in the fifth as a walk and two hit batters loaded the bases for Collins who singled through the left side to plate two. Clough doubled home two more runs, putting the Hawks in front, 10-8.
The Hawks added a run in the seventh on single by Collins, scoring Dunklee and added three more in the eighth which made the score 14-8.
After Pezzolla reached on a dropped third strike, he would advance to second on a wild pitch, eventually coming around to score on a Maurice double. A pair of walks loaded the bases for Doran who launched a grand slam to center field, giving the Hawks a 19-8 lead.
