MANCHESTER, N.H. – Freshman Manny Cruz (Wolcott, Conn.) and senior Al Stanton (Sandwich, Mass.) each drove in three runs as No. 11 Southern New Hampshire University extended its win streak to eight games with a 12-9 Northeast-10 baseball victory over Saint Anselm College Thursday afternoon at Saint Anselm's Sullivan Park.  The Penmen improve to 25-7 and 12-3 in the NE-10, while the Hawks are now 9-21 and 3-10 in the league.

Stanton belted a two-run home run as part of an eight run third and finished 2-4 at the plate, while Cruz was 2-5 with three runs scored.  Mike Mastroberti (Ramsey, N.J.) and Bryan Toland (Wildwood, N.J.) also had two hits apiece, while Alejandro Diaz (Old Bridge, N.J.) extended his hit streak to 11 games with a second inning single.  Anthony Aceto (North Providence, R.I.) also drove in a pair of runs.

Sophomore Tim Viehoff (Derry, N.H.) improved to 2-1 with six innings on the mound, allowing four hits and three runs while striking out seven, while walking six.  Ben Criscuolo (Branford, Conn.) earned his fifth save of the year getting the final two outs after Saint Anselm scored six runs in the final two frames after trailing 12-3 after seven.

SNHU jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first when Riley Palmer (Goffstown, N.H.) singled to plate Cruz.  The Penmen scored eight times in the third, with Aceto and Cruz each hitting two-run doubles and Stanton his two run home run, to make it 9-0.  The Hawks scored twice in the bottom of the third before SNHU scored twice in the fifth and one more time in the sixth to extend its lead to 12-3.

In the fifth, Cruz and Stanton hit back-to-back RBI singles as SNHU upped its lead to 11-2.  After Saint Anselm scored in the bottom of the fifth, Southern New Hampshire made it 12-3 in the sixth when Mastroberti scored on a throwing error on a Toland stolen base.

After Lucas Olen (Bedford, N.H.) tossed a scoreless seventh, Zach Zona (Auburn, Mass.) and Sam Fuller (Barre, Vt.) were touched for three runs apiece before Criscuolo came in to close out the contest with one away in the ninth.

Southern New Hampshire returns to action Saturday when it hosts Assumption College for a noon doubleheader at Penmen Field.

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