COLCHESTER, Vt. – Behind 18 walks and 16 runs at the plate and an eight strikeout performance on the mound by senior
Dallas Vaughan (Haverhill, Mass.), the Saint Anselm College baseball team picked up another win in the first game of Friday afternoon's doubleheader against Saint Michael's College. The Hawks are now 3-3 in Northeast-10 Conference play, while the Purple Knights are 1-3.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm wraps up the three-game series against Saint Michael's with a single game on Saturday, March 30th at 10:00 a.m.
Game 1 Score: Saint Anselm 16, Saint Michael's 8 (9 innings)
Win: D. Vaughan (1-4)
Loss: B. Jones (0-4)
Records: Saint Anselm 9-12 (3-2 NE10); Saint Michael's 3-14 (0-3 NE10)
Location: Colchester, Vt. (Doc Jacobs Baseball Field)
Date: Friday, March 29, 2024
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 1):
- Senior Zack Clough (Newbury, Mass.) led off with a walk in the top of the first for Saint Anselm, but was caught stealing second. The next batter, freshman Mavrick Bourdeau (Billerica, Mass.) tripled to right and then scored on a passed ball as the Hawks went ahead, 1-0.
- In his seventh start of the season on the mound for Saint Anselm, Vaughan had a successful first three innings. Vaughan kept Saint Michael's off the board, allowing just two hits while striking out four batters through three.
- With two outs in the top of the third, the Hawks started a rally to get a few more runs across the plate. Senior Aidan Dow (Lynn, Mass.) walked and freshman Austin Brune (Billerica, Mass.) singled. Sophomore Ben Rose (Webster, N.H.) then stepped up to bat and drilled a two-run double to left-center field to make it 3-0, Saint Anselm.
- After a walk put runners on first and second once again, junior Jax Budgell (Newburyport, Mass.) scored Rose with an RBI single. Saint Anselm then loaded the bases after another walk, forcing a Saint Michael's pitching change. Clough then came up to the plate and walked in a run, allowing the Hawks to hold a 5-0 lead after three innings of play.
- In the fourth, Saint Anselm loaded the bases after three more walks. Budgell was then hit by a pitch and a run scored to make it 6-0. Vaughan struck out three more between the fourth and fifth innings to keep the shutout intact.
- Saint Michael's finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Evan Balian launched a two-run home run to right field to make it 6-2, Saint Anselm.
- The Hawks got those two runs right back in the top of the seventh. Bourdeau hit an RBI single to left-center and then scored on a base hit by Dow.
- Sophomore Andrew MacDonald (Amesbury, Mass.) replaced Vaughan on the bump with a six-run advantage at the start of the seventh, but the Purple Knights made it 8-4 after an RBI single by Terence Moynihan followed by a wild pitch that scored another run.
- In the top of the eighth, the Hawks loaded the bases again. Rose and Budgell were both hit by a pitch and sophomore Brendan Harris (Altamont, N.Y.) singled. With nobody out, sophomore Shea Howrigan (Enosburg Falls, Vt.) scored two with a double to left field, extending Saint Anselm's lead to 10-4. Senior Nolan Elmore (Brentwood, N.H.) brought another run home with an RBI single as the Hawks increased their lead to seven.
- Junior Adam Betty (Lowell, Mass.) came on in relief to start the bottom of the eighth inning. Saint Michael's fought back by scoring four runs to cut the deficit to just three. Andrew Lanthier smashed a three-run shot to right that made it an 11-8 game with one inning to go.
- The Hawks blew the game open in the top of the ninth by scoring five runs to put it away. With two outs in the inning, three straight batters walked to load the bases again for Saint Anselm. The next three batters, Bourdeau, Elmore, and Dow, each walked in a run to make it 14-8. Bourdeau then came to the plate after a wild pitch thrown by Saint Michael's and Elmore scored the final run after a Purple Knights fielding error.
- Freshman Cooper Hagen (Grand Rapids, Mich.) came on in the bottom of the ninth. After allowing a walk and a single, Hagen ended the game by forcing a flyout and then a double play to secure Saint Anselm's win by a final score of 16-8.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS (Game 1):
- Saint Anselm scored 16 total runs after recording 13 hits, while Saint Michael's scored eight runs on eight hits. Both teams committed one error apiece in the game. The Hawks left 18 runners on base, while the Purple Knights stranded seven.
- The Hawks recorded five extra base hits in the contest with four doubles and a triple, while the only extra base hits for the Purple Knights came on a pair of home runs. Saint Anselm also tallied four stolen bases in the win and walked 18 times.
- Bourdeau, Elmore, Harris, and Howrigan all finished with two-hit performances for the Hawks. Every player in the batting order recorded at least one hit and six different hitters (Bourdeau, Budgell, Dow, Elmore, Howrigan, and Rose) recorded two RBIs. Eight Saint Anselm batters walked at least twice, led by Clough who recorded three.
- Vaughan had an excellent day on the mound, allowing just two earned runs on three hits while striking out eight in his first win of the season. Three Hawks came on in relief and pitched one inning apiece, allowing six runs combined to help seal the win.
Game 2 Score: Saint Anselm 3, Saint Michael's 5 (9 innings)
Win: K. Burke (1-2)
Loss: Q. MacDonald (0-1)
Save: R. Canty (2)
Records: Saint Anselm 9-13 (3-3 NE10); Saint Michael's 4-14 (1-3 NE10)
Location: Colchester, Vt. (Doc Jacobs Baseball Field)
Date: Friday, March 29, 2024
Attendance: 145
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 2):
- Saint Anselm kept the offense going right away to start the second game. The first two Hawks got out in the top of the first, but Elmore stepped up to the plate and launched his team-leading fourth home run of the season to center, giving his team an early 1-0 advantage.
- Saint Michael's quickly tied things up in the bottom of the first with Balian sending one over the right field fence to make it 1-1.
- The Purple Knights recorded a hit in each of the next three innings, but Hawks starting pitcher Matthew Michel (Haverhill, Mass.) was able to get out of the jam each time. However, the Hawks were held scoreless at the plate as well and the game remained 1-1 after five innings of play.
- Rose singled in the top of the fifth to give Saint Anselm a baserunner, but the Hawks could not get anything going after that.
- In the bottom of the sixth, Saint Michael's took their first lead of the day. Freshman Quinn MacDonald replaced Michel after 79 pitches at the start of the inning. Balian led off with a double and the next batter was hit by a pitch. Those two runners moved to second and third on a wild pitch and both scored after a double by Richard Gilboy to put Saint Michael's in front, 3-1.
- The Purple Knights tacked on two more in the bottom of the seventh and pulled ahead, 5-1. Fifth-year John Donovan (Lowell, Mass.) replaced MacDonald to start the inning and struck out his first batter faced. However, the next two batters walked and moved to second and third on a wild pitch. Donovan then struck out Moynihan for the second out, but Balian brought both runners home on a single to right. Donovan struck out another for the third out to end the inning.
- Despite a single by Howrigan and a double by Clough in the eighth, Saint Anselm could not cut into the Saint Michael's lead and trailed by four runs heading to the ninth.
- In the top of the ninth, three straight singles allowed the Hawks to get a rally going with nobody out. Elmore, Dow, and Brune all had base hits to get aboard and with one out, freshman Declan Ryan (Hooksett, N.H.) was hit by a pitch, making it 5-2.
- An infield flyout helped the Purple Knights get their second out of the inning. Howrigan then reached on a fielding error and another run crossed the plate to make it 5-3. However, Clough grounded out with the bases loaded to end the game and Saint Anselm fell by that same score.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS (Game 2):
- Saint Anselm finished with three runs on seven hits, while Saint Michael's had five runs on seven hits. The Purple Knights committed two errors in the game and left six runners on base, while the Hawks had an error-free game while leaving seven men on base.
- Elmore led the way for the Hawks by going 2-4 at the plate with an RBI and two runs scored. Brune, Clough, Dow, Howrigan, and Rose had the other hits in the game for Saint Anselm.
- Michel threw five innings and allowed just one earned run on four hits, striking out eight in the no decision. MacDonald and Donovan came on in relief to throw an inning apiece with both conceding two earned runs. Donovan struck out three in just an inning of action.
- Since 1990, Saint Anselm is 40-21 against Saint Michael's. The Hawks have now won 15 of the last 17 games against the Purple Knights dating back to 2021.
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