MANCHESTER, N.H. – A walkoff single in the bottom of the eighth inning by junior Bryan Toland (Wildwood, N.J.) lifted No. 11 Southern New Hampshire University to a 3-2 win in the non-league nightcap of a baseball doubleheader against Saint Michael's College Wednesday night.  Earlier, SNHU took a 9-2 win in a Northeast-10 Conference contest.  The Penmen have won seven straight and are now 24-7 and 11-3 in NE-10 play, while the Purple Knights are 2-13 and 1-7 in the league.

In the bottom of the eighth of the scheduled seven-inning contest, SNHU was able to load the bases with one out.  Al Stanton (Sandwich, Mass.) doubled to lead off, followed by an intentional walk to Riley Palmer (Goffstown, N.H.).  The pair was moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Mike Mastroberti (Ramsey, N.J.), then Saint Michael's elected to load the bases by walking Alejandro Diaz (Old Bridge, N.J.).  Toland then singled with a full count deep to left field to plate Stanton and end the game.

SNHU took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third when two errors were committed on a bases-loaded ground ball by Palmer to first base with two out, allowing Cam Oliveira (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Brendan O'Brien (East Bridgewater, Mass.) to score.  Saint Michael's got single runs in the fourth and fifth to tie the game.  In the fourth, an Alec Tice single plated Tyler Wild, while Nicky Elderton scored in the fifth when Nick McGuirl grounded into a double play.

Freshman reliever Benjamin Criscuolo (Branford, Conn.) improved to 5-0 on the season, allowing one hit in two innings of relief.  Ian Searles (Wareham, Mass.) went the first six innings, allowing three hits and two runs while fanning eight.  The Penmen outhit the Purple Knights 5-4 in the nightcap, with Diaz extending his hit streak to 10 games with a second inning single.

In the opener, senior Derrick Sylvester (Franklin, N.H.) improved to 6-1 with his complete-game effort, striking out a career-high 14 batters while allowing four hits and two runs (one earned) while walking three.  Palmer went 2-4 with three RBI, including a two-run home run in the first, his third home run in four games.  He also had a triple in the eighth that scored Manny Cruz (Wolcott, Conn.).  Mastroberti went 2-4 with a pair of RBI, hitting a two-run double during a four-run seventh.  Diaz also had a pair of hits.

SNHU jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first then made it 4-0 in the fourth before Saint Michael's scored single runs in the fifth and sixth frames to pull within 4-2.  The Penmen scored four times in the seventh before tacking on a final run in the eighth.

Southern New Hampshire returns to action Thursday afternoon when it travels to Saint Anselm College for a 3:30 Northeast-10 contest.

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