Box Score LANTANA, Fla. – Brendan O'Brien (East Bridgewater, Mass.) went 4-5 with three stolen bases and a pair of RBI as Southern New Hampshire University defeated Chestnut Hill College 5-2 in baseball Sunday afternoon at the Santaluces Complex. The Penmen improved to 4-2 on the season, while the Griffins are now 0-3 on the season.
SNHU staked itself to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as O'Brien led off the game with a single. After stealing second and moving to third on a sac bunt by Manny Cruz (Wolcott, Conn.), O'Brien scored on a sacrifice fly by Riley Palmer (Goffstown, N.H.).
Chestnut Hill grabbed a run in the third to tie the game 1-1, where it remained until the Penmen scored twice in the sixth. Bryan Toland (Wildwood, N.J.) reached on a one-out double and scored on a single by Anthony Aceto (North Providence, R.I.). Tyler Fortanascio (Oradell, N.J.) singled after Toland and scored on an O'Brien single to make it 3-1.
The Griffins scored in the top of the seventh to cut the lead to 3-2, but the Penmen tacked on single runs in the seventh and eighth frames. In the seventh, Palmer was hit by a pitch with one away and after moving up on a wild pitch followed by a stolen base, scored on a sac fly by Michael Mastroberti (Ramsey, N.J.). In the eighth, Aceto worked a one-out walk and scored on an O'Brien single.
Derrick Sylvester (Franklin, N.H.) evened his record at 1-1 on the season with six innings of work, allowing three hits and two runs while striking out six. Sam Fuller (Barre, Vt.) tossed three hitless innings, recording three strikeouts, to earn the save.
Southern New Hampshire returns to action Monday afternoon when it travels to Lynn University. That game, originally scheduled for a 2:30 start, has been moved up to 1:00 pm.
For the latest on Southern New Hampshire University athletics, follow the Penmen via social media on Twitter (@snhupenmen), Facebook (www.facebook.com/snhupenmen), Youtube (www.youtube.com/snhupenmen) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/snhupenmen).