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Box Score 2 WEST HAVEN, Conn. – No. 20 Southern New Hampshire University swept a non-conference baseball doubleheader from the University of Bridgeport by scores of 7-2 and 7-5 Saturday afternoon at West Haven High School. The Penmen improved to 34-12 with the victories, while the Purple Knights are now 17-26-1.
In the opener, Alejandro Diaz (Old Bridge, N.J.) and Bryan Toland (Wildwood, N.J.) each had three hits for Southern New Hampshire, with Diaz needing only a home run for the cycle. Diaz also drove in a pair of runs. Riley Palmer (Goffstown, N.H.) added two hits for the Penmen.
Mike Robert (Nashua, N.H.) went the first three innings of the seven-inning game for Southern New Hampshire and earned the win, allowing two hits and no runs while fanning four. Alex Person (Foxboro, Mass.) allowed five hits and two runs in his three innings, while Lucas Olen (Bedford, N.H.) worked a 1-2-3 seventh.
Southern New Hampshire led 2-1 after four innings when it broke the game open with two runs in the fifth and three in the sixth. In the fifth, a Diaz double and a Toland single brought in runs, while in the sixth, Palmer drove in the first run of the inning on a single. Diaz made it 6-1 with his triple, and later scored as Tyler Fortanascio (Oradell, N.J.) was caught in a rundown trying to steal second.
In the nightcap, Diaz extended his hit streak to nine games by going 2-4 while knocking in three runs. Brendan O'Brien (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and Manny Cruz (Wolcott, Conn.) each had two hits, which for Cruz were a pair of doubles, while Palmer went 1-3 with a home run and two RBI. O'Brien stole two bases in the nightcap and three for the twinbill, giving him 45 on the season without getting caught. Dating back to last season he has stolen 54 consecutive bases.
Palmer staked SNHU to a 1-0 lead with his solo home run in the second, but Bridgeport scored twice in the bottom of the third to take a 2-1 lead. The Penmen plated three runs apiece in the fourth and fifth innings to build a 7-2 lead. Bridgeport pulled within two, 7-5, with three runs of its own in the bottom of the fifth.
In the fourth, SNHU tied the game when Palmer reached on a fielders' choice to bring in Cruz, while back-to-back singles by Diaz and Fortanascio made it 4-2. Diaz struck again in the fifth with a two-run single to the gap in right center to make it 7-1. Earlier in the frame, a Cruz double brought in O'Brien.
Ian Searles (Wareham, Mass.) came in in relief in the third inning and allowed a hit while recording a strikeout and was credited with the win, the second of five Penmen pitchers in the nightcap. Benjamin Criscuolo (Branford, Conn) worked a 1-2-3 seventh with a pair of strikeouts for his 11th save of the season.
Southern New Hampshire closes out the regular season Sunday evening when it hosts Stonehill College in a 6:00 contest at Penmen Field. The Penmen, who will honor 11 seniors prior to the game, are locked in a tight battle in the Northeast-10 Northeast Division and can lock up a NE-10 first round home game and at least a share of the division regular season title with a win.
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