Stonehill Outduels UMass Lowell, 4-3


Sophomore Armand Rugel struck out 11 batters in a complete game victory for Stonehill (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Rugel goes the distance to lead Stonehill past Lowell

EASTON, Mass. (April 30, 2013) – The Stonehill College baseball team defeated the UMass Lowell River Hawks, 4-3 in a Northeast-10 Conference matchup Tuesday afternoon at Lou Gorman Field in Easton, Mass.

Sophomore hurler Armand Rugel (Middletwon, R.I./Middletown) pitched a complete game to earn the victory for the Skyhawks. Rugel yielded three unearned runs on three hits and four walks, while striking out 11 batters in the win.

Senior Tyler Toyfair (Agawam, Mass./Agawam) was tagged with the loss for the River Hawks in the start. Toyfair pitched 4.1 innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on five hits and four walks. The senior picked up four strikeouts in the loss. Sophomore Christian Lavoie (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton) completed the game for Lowell, yielding just a single hit in 3.2 innings of relief for the River Hawks.

Skyhawks' captain James DeAlto (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y./Briarcliff) led the way for Stonehill in his final regular season home game. DeAlto went 2-for-4 with a single, a double, a RBI, and a run scored. Freshman Brian Campbell (Franklin, Mass./Mount Saint Charles) also registered a RBI and a run for the Skyhawks in the victory.

Sophomore Matt Sanchez (Sunrise, Fla./Nova) paced the River Hawk offense on the afternoon. Sanchez went 1-for-2 with a double, two walks, and two RBI. James Katsiroubas (Milton, Mass./Milton) and Geoff DeGroot (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Wesley Chapel) posted the only other hits for Lowell in the loss.

Stonehill jumped out to a lead with three runs in the third inning. With runners on first and third, junior Anthony Pagano (Cranston, R.I./Cranston West) roped a RBI-single to right field to put Stonehill on the board. Later in the inning, junior Billy Karalis (Pawtucket, R.I./Bishop Feehan) gave the Skyhawks a two-run lead when he hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Campbell.

The River Hawks answered with three runs in the top of the fourth to take a 3-2 advantage. With the bases loaded and one out, Katsiroubas scored on a wild pitch to cut Stonehill's lead to one. Sanchez followed with a two-run double to deep left center field to give the River Hawks its first lead of the game, 3-2.

The Skyhawks fought back in the bottom of the fourth to regain the lead. With two outs and a runner on second, DeAlto lifted a RBI-double down the left field line to knot the score at 3-3. The next batter, Campbell, plated DeAlto with a triple to left center field to give Stonehill a 4-3 lead.

Rugel settled in nicely after the fourth inning, blanking the River Hawks the rest of the way. The Skyhawks' starter retired 15 of the next 19 batters he faced, allowing just four runners to reach after the fourth. Rugel earned six of his 11 strikeouts after the fourth to close out his seventh win of the season.

The Skyhawks (22-20, 10-14 NE-10) return to action Friday afternoon at 3:30 when it opens a three-game series with the Merrimack College Warriors. Next up for UMass Lowell (27-19, 12-12 NE-10) is a season-ending three-game series with the Bentley University Falcons, beginning at 7:00 pm on Thursday.

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