Stonehill Salvages Split With Pace


Junior Christian Baglini went 3-for-7 with two RBI as Stonehill split a pair of contests with Pace today.

Skyhawks drop opener, 2-1, before rebounding with 4-1 game two victory

EASTON, Mass. (April 6, 2014) – Led by strong pitching performances from sophomores John Hauck (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn-Trafford) and Patrick Nicholson (Middleboro, Mass./Middleboro), Stonehill College earned a doubleheader split with Pace University this afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference baseball action at Lou Gorman Field.

Hauck started the opener and took the loss despite giving up just two runs on eight hits over 7.2 innings of work, while Nicholson picked up the win in game two after going 6.1 innings and allowing one run on six hits to go with three strikeouts and no walks. Junior Steve Pike (Stoughton, Mass./Catholic Memorial) worked 1.2 innings of hitless relief in game two, and classmate Armand Rugel (Middletown, R.I./Middletown) collected his team-leading seventh save of the season after pitching a scoreless ninth.

Stonehill was led offensively by sophomore Chris Hoyt (Walpole, Mass./Xaverian Brothers) and junior Christian Baglini (Milford, Conn./Notre Dame). Hoyt went 4-for-8 on the day and scored one run, and Baglini was 3-for-7 with two RBI and a run. Junior catcher Eric Schneider (Camarillo, Calif./Saint Bonaventure) picked up a hit in each contest, and senior shortstop Dan Fratus (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) went 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBI in Stonehill's game two victory.

Pace won the opener on the strength of senior Jonathan Silva's (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) seven inning, three hit, one run effort, while junior Jonathan Chudy (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen) earned a two-inning save while picking up four strikeouts and allowing two hits.

Senior James Pjura (Shelton, Conn./Shelton) keyed the Setter offense with three hits and two RBI on the day, while sophomore Danny Wynne (Hasbrouck Heights, N.J./Hasbrouck Heights) went 3-for-4 at the plate.

Pace 2, Stonehill 1 

The Setters got to Hauck for a pair of runs in the first inning, before he settled down and cruised through the majority of the contest. Sophomore Andrew Coffey (Greenwich, Conn./Avon Old Farms) singled with one out and advanced to third on the next play as senior Chris Gili (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport-South Manor) doubled to put two runners in scoring position. Pjura came up next and plated the game's first two runs with another double, but that would round out Pace's scoring in the contest.

Hauck and Silva kept both teams' offenses silent through the sixth inning, until Stonehill finally got on the board in the bottom of the seventh. Hoyt led off the frame with a single, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After the next batter popped out, Baglini singled, scoring Hoyt from second and cutting Pace's lead in half.

The Setters squandered a golden opportunity to get some insurance in the eighth inning, as they loaded the bases, but Stonehill senior Charlie DeFrancesco (Lincoln, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury) worked out of the frame unscathed.


Junior Armand Rugel picked up his seventh save of the season in Stonehill's 4-1 game two victory over Pace.

The Skyhawks got the tying run aboard with singles in both the eighth and ninth innings, but Chudy did not allow the runners to get past first base in locking up the save.

Stonehill 4, Pace 1

After scoring just one run on five hits in the opener, Stonehill provided Nicholson with four runs in game two, which proved to be more than enough. Fratus led the Skyhawk offense with two hits and two RBI, while Baglini also picked up a pair of hits and one RBI.

After a scoreless first, Stonehill went up 1-0 in the second inning on an RBI single by Schneider, his second hit of the day. Pace tied the score the next inning, however, as senior David Pepe (Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell) led off with a triple before eventually scoring on an RBI single by Coffey.

Neither team scored in the fourth or fifth innings, but Stonehill broke the scoreless tie with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth. With two men on base and one out, Fratus delivered a two-run triple, scoring Baglini and sophomore Brian Campbell (Franklin, Mass./Mount Saint Charles). The Skyhawks added one more run in the eighth on an RBI double by Baglini, and Rugel shut the door on the Setters in the ninth to earn the save.

Stonehill (16-12, 6-5 NE-10) will be back in action on Wednesday, as the Skyhawks are set to host Assumption College at 3:30 p.m., before hitting the road for three contests this weekend at Saint Anselm College. Pace (6-13, 2-8 NE-10) will return to action on Wednesday as well against the University of New Haven.

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