BOX SCORE

When and Where: March 30, 2018 – Waltham, Mass. (DeFelice Field)
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 9, Bentley University 1
Records: SNHU 12-9 (2-2 NE10, 2-0 NE10 NE), Bentley 8-10 (2-2 NE10, 0-2 NE10 NE)

Sophomore Tom Blandini (Bow, N.H.) accounted for six runs and graduate student Andrew Lalonde (Bedford, N.H.) turned in five strong innings to lead the Southern New Hampshire University baseball team to an 8-1 win against Bentley University on Friday at DeFelice Field.

Southern New Hampshire moved out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Blandini led off with an infield single and advanced to third on walks from redshirt-senior Ryan Sullivan (Hopkinton, Mass.) and redshirt-junior John Stanton (Sandwich, Mass.), before senior Caleb Potter (Mentor, Ohio) drove him in with a sacrifice fly to right.

Bentley would pull even in the fourth on an RBI single from Brandon Grover, but the Penmen would snap the tie with a four-run sixth inning. Freshman Sam Henrie (Middleboro, Mass.) began the fun with a single to center and then came all the way around with the go-ahead run on a double to left by junior Joshua Zbierski (Stafford Springs, Conn.). After senior Kyle Pangallo (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) reached on an infield single and a sac bunt from redshirt-sophomore Joshua Goldstein (Haverhill, Mass.) put a pair in scoring position, Blandini came through with a two-run base hit that made it 4-1. Blandini would score two batters later when Sullivan reached on a two-out error.

SNHU nudged its lead to 6-1 in the seventh when Potter led off with a triple to center and immediately scored on Henrie's groundout to short. Then Penmen tacked on two more in the ninth as Pangallo was hit by a pitch, swiped both second and third, then scored on Blandini's double to left. Blandini would come home one batter later, with freshman Idelson Taveras (Lawrence, Mass.) getting aboard on an error.

Lalonde (2-2) allowed one run on four hits, while striking out six and walking three over five innings. Junior Hayden Manning (Portland, Conn.) tossed three scoreless frames, giving up just two hits and fanning five. Fellow junior Matthew Messier (No. Troy, Vt.) fired a 1-2-3 ninth.

Blandini finished 4-for-6 with three RBI and three runs scored. Pangallo was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, while Zbierski went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run. Potter was 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored.

Notes:
- The Penmen win their second straight game and have outscored their opponents 17-4 during that stretch.
- Lalonde has now given up just six earned runs over 32-and-a-third innings this season, submitting a 1.67 ERA and striking out 10.86 per nine innings, as he has punched out 39 and walked 11 in his five starts. Batters are hitting just .212 against him.

Up Next:
The Penmen return to action Saturday, March 31 (12/3 p.m.) when they return to DeFelice Field to close out the series with a doubleheader against Bentley.

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