Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 GAME 1 BOX SCORE | GAME 2 BOX SCORE
When and Where: February 24, 2018 – Myrtle Beach, S.C. (Ripken Experience)
Game 1 Score: Southern New Hampshire University 9, Long Island University-LIU Post 8
Game 2 Score: Southern New Hampshire University 12, Mercy College 5
Records: SNHU 4-0, LIU Post 3-5, Mercy 3-4
Sophomore Tom Blandini (Bow, N.H.) hit a two-run, walk-off single in game one and classmate Phoenix Hernandez (Brooklyn, N.Y.) swatted the first two home runs of his career in the second game, as the 15th-ranked Southern New Hampshire University baseball team won two more contests Saturday to better its record to 4-0 on the five-game trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Penmen rallied for a 9-8 win against Long Island University-LIU Post, before recording a 12-5 victory against Mercy College.
Hernandez was a perfect 3-for-3 with two walks, a pair of home runs and three RBI in the doubleheader, while senior Caleb Potter (Mentor, Ohio) went 4-for-8 with a walk, hit-by-pitch, two home runs, four knocked in and a pair of runs scored. Redshirt-senior Ryan Sullivan (Hopkinton, Mass.) finished 3-for-7, while getting plunked three times, homering, driving in three runs and scoring twice. Blandini (two walks, three RBI, two runs), redshirt-junior John Stanton (Sandwich, Mass.; two walks, a home run, five RBI, four runs) and graduate student Thomas Buonopane (Peabody, Mass.; three walks, four runs) each went 3-for-8.
Southern New Hampshire jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first against LIU Post. Buonopane led off with a single, stole second and scored on a double by Blandini. Stanton then flashed his power, sending one deep the other way for a two-run home run that made it 3-0 without a single out recorded. Potter added a solo shot two batters later and the Penmen had a 4-0 lead after one.
SNHU extended the advantage to 6-0 in the second when walks to Buonopane and Blandini were followed by a wild pitch that moved them into scoring position, as well as a single from Stanton that brought both runners in.
Graduate student Andrew Lalonde (Bedford, N.H.) cruised into the fourth inning where Michael Manzione's two-out RBI single nicked the Penmen for a run. A two-run home run off the bat of Anthony Vaglica in the sixth pulled the Pioneers within 6-3. In the seventh, an error brought in a run, with an RBI single from Joe Spitaleri and run-scoring triple from Michael Andreoli tying the game, 6-6.
After Blandini doubled to lead off the eighth and was eventually cut down at the plate on a force-out, redshirt-junior Kevin Alexy (Newton, Mass.) snapped the tie with a sacrifice fly.
LIU Post went ahead, 8-7, against the SNHU bullpen in the ninth with a bases-loaded fielder's choice bringing in a pair following a misjudged throw.
The Penmen answered the bell in the bottom of the ninth, however, with junior Kyle Ruth (Albany, N.Y.) drawing a leadoff walk before going to third on a double from senior Kyle Pangallo (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). After a strikeout, Blandini came through with a walk-off hit that brought both runners home and kept Southern New Hampshire perfect on the young season.
Lalonde was charged with six runs – five earned – on eight hits, while punching out eight and walking a pair over six-and-a-third innings. Redshirt-freshman Zachary Merchant (Lunenburg, Mass.) fired an inning-and-a-third of scoreless relief, allowing a hit and a walk. Sophomore Nick Artymowicz (Seaville, N.J.) relinquished two runs on two hits and a walk, fanning one, over an inning-and-a-third, but wound up recording his first win of the season.
Blandini finished 3-for-4 with two walks, three RBI and two runs scored, while Stanton checked in 2-for-4 with a walk, four RBI and two runs.
Southern New Hampshire again went in front, 1-0, in the first inning of the second game against Mercy. Buonopane led off with a base knock, swiped second, moved to third on a groundout and scored on Stanton's groundout to short.
More power stretched the lead to 4-0 in the fourth, as Potter's second solo bomb of the day and Hernandez' two-run drive – the first of his career – did the damage.
Mercy responded in the bottom of the inning against junior Matthew Messier (No. Troy, Vt.), who was making his Penmen debut. Kuzari Jocelyn clubbed a one-out, three-run homer that pulled the Mavericks within 4-3.
SNHU answered with three more in the fifth. Stanton put the ball in motion with a leadoff single, before swiping second and scoring on a double by Sullivan. Following a Potter hit, Sullivan would score on a 4-6-3 double play, with Hernandez going deep for the second time to make it 7-3.
The Penmen then posted their third straight three-spot in the sixth, with Sullivan's sac fly to center and a two-run base hit by Potter pushing the lead to 10-3. Hernandez would tack on a run in the seventh by drawing a leadoff walk and eventually scoring on a passed ball.
RBI singles in the seventh from Miguel Ortiz Sanchez and Anthony Murphy would trim the Mercy deficit to 11-5, but a Sullivan solo job in the eighth put the exclamation point on the victory.
Messier (1-0) gave up three runs on seven hits, while striking out three and walking three over six innings. Redshirt-junior Cameron Scotia (Dudley, Mass.) relinquished two runs on two hits and a walk in an inning of work. Junior Xavier Czepiel (Southampton, N.J.) struck out one in a perfect eighth, with redshirt-freshman Tucker Hetherman (Charlton, Mass.) firing a scoreless ninth, allowing a hit and a walk, while fanning a batter.
Hernandez finished 3-for-3 with a pair of walks, three RBI and three runs scored, while Potter turned in a 3-for-4 performance with a walk, three RBI and a run scored. Sullivan also knocked in three runs and scored twice, while going 2-for-5 at the plate.
Notes:
- Southern New Hampshire begins the season 4-0 for the second time in three years.
- Potter's two home runs were Nos. two and three of the season, as well as the eighth and ninth of his career. Stanton's long-ball was his first of the year and sixth in a Penmen uniform, while Sullivan's was also his first of the season and 13th of his career. Hernandez' two bombs were the first two of his career.
-The Penmen are outscoring their opponents, 42-24, over the first four games of the season.
Up Next:
The Penmen wrap up their trip to Myrtle Beach on Sunday, Feb. 25 (9 a.m.) when they take on NE10-foe Le Moyne College.
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