Junior Chris Hoyt went 5-for-11 with a home run, five RBI, and three runs in a pair of Stonehill victories in Myrtle Beach today. |
Skyhawks defeat Molloy and Nyack by matching 9-2 scores
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (February 21, 2015) – The Stonehill College baseball team returned to action today with a pair of victories at the Ripken Experience Northeast Challenge in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Stonehill topped Molloy College, 9-2, in the morning, before defeating Nyack College by an identical 9-2 score in the afternoon.
Sophomore outfielder Ben Monte (New Haven, Connecticut/Guilford), who went 2-for-4 with three RBI yesterday, stayed hot today with four more hits, three RBI, and three runs over the two games. Junior Chris Hoyt (Walpole, Massachusetts/Xaverian Brothers) went 5-for-11 with a home run, five RBI, and three runs, while senior Christian Baglini (Milford, Connecticut/Notre Dame High School) and sophomore Steve Lee (Braintree, Massachusetts/Braintree) recorded three hits each.
Stonehill scored single runs in the first, sixth, and seventh innings before putting four on the board in the eighth. Baglini doubled with one out, and after a pair of walks loaded the bases, junior catcher Brian Hocking (Duxbury, Massachusetts/BC High) belted a grand slam to put the Skyhawks ahead 7-0.
Molloy got two runs back in the bottom half of the eighth on RBI hits by senior John Galanoudis (Farmingdale, New York/Farmingdale) and junior Michael Rahn (Sayville, New York/Sayville), before Stonehill capped the scoring in the ninth on a two-run homer by Hoyt.
Making his first start since his sophomore season, senior righthander Armand Rugel (Middletown, Rhode Island/Middletown) earned the win after tossing six shutout frames with seven strikeouts. Freshman Pat Shore (Norwood, Massachusetts/Catholic Memorial) went the final three innings to pick up his first collegiate save.
After a scoreless first inning, Stonehill posted its second four-run frame of the day in the bottom of the second. Lee tripled with two outs, before sophomore first baseman Eddie Bowler (Hingham, Massachusetts/Hingham) drove him in with a single. Later in the inning, Hoyt knocked in a pair of runs with another single and Bowler came around to score on an error by Nyack's second baseman.
Stonehill would add two runs in the fourth on RBI singles by Hoyt and Monte, before scoring two more times in the fifth and once in the sixth.
Junior John Hauck (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania/Penn-Trafford) got the start for the Skyhawks but did not earn a decision despite striking out nine and giving up just one run over 4.2 frames. Senior Ryan Rougeot (Cheshire, Connecticut/Cheshire) picked up the win with 3.1 shutout innings of relief, while freshman Ryan Murray (Bridgewater, Massachusetts/Thayer Academy) made his first collegiate appearance, tossing a scoreless ninth.
Stonehill (3-0, 0-0 NE-10) will cap its trip to Myrtle Beach tomorrow with games against Chestnut Hill College (12 p.m.) and Felician College (3 p.m.).
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