Senior shortstop Dan Fratus went 4-for-9 with two runs, three doubles, and four RBI as Stonehill split two games in Myrtle Beach today. |
Skyhawks top Chestnut Hill, 12-0, before dropping 9-4 decision to Felician
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (February 22, 2015) – The Stonehill College baseball team wrapped up its season-opening, five-game trip at the Ripken Experience Northeast Challenge in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina today by splitting a pair non-conference games against Chestnut Hill College and Felician College.
Stonehill defeated Chestnut Hill, 12-0 in the first game of the day before dropping a 9-4 decision to Felician. The Skyhawks went 4-1 over the course of the three-day trip, scoring 38 runs in the process.
Senior shortstop Dan Fratus (Plymouth, Massachusetts/Plymouth North) led the offensive effort today, as he went 4-for-9 at the plate with two runs, three doubles, and four RBI over the two games. Senior catcher Eric Schneider (Camarillo, California/Saint Bonaventure) was 4-for-8 with a pair of walks, while junior Brian Hocking (Duxbury, Massachusetts/BC High) recorded three hits and three RBI.
Junior lefty Patrick Nicholson (Middleboro, Massachusetts/Middleboro) started the opener against Chestnut Hill and earned the win after giving up just two hits over six scoreless innings while striking out three and walking two. Making their first collegiate appearances, freshman Matt Peters (Portsmouth, Rhode Island/Portsmouth) and sophomore Pat Hurley (Roslindale, Massachusetts/Catholic Memorial) combined to shut out the Griffins the rest of the way.
Stonehill 12, Chestnut Hill 0
The Skyhawks opened their final day in Myrtle Beach with another strong offensive performance, piling up 17 hits and 12 runs. The trio of Nicholson, Peters, and Hurley combined to give up just four hits en route to Stonehill's first shutout of 2015.
Junior Chris Hoyt (Walpole, Massachusetts/Xaverian Brothers) led off the top of the first with a single and eventually came around to score on an error. Later in the inning, Fratus plated Stonehill's second run of the contest on an RBI single.
Hoyt got on base again the following inning, singling with one out before advancing to third and stealing home for his second run in as many frames. Fratus and Hocking followed with RBI hits later in the inning as Stonehill increased its lead to 5-0.
The Skyhawks would add another run in the third before putting four on the board in the fifth, highlighted by Fratus' two-out, two-run double. Stonehill capped the scoring with a pair of unearned runs in the sixth.
Junior catcher Robert Slagle (Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania/Plymouth Whitemarsh) recorded two of Chestnut Hill's four hits in the game, while freshman Matthew Lyle (Baldwin, New York/Baldwin Senior) tossed two scoreless innings of relief.
Felician 9, Stonehill 4
Stonehill's pitching staff, which had given up no more than three runs in any of its first four games of the season, was touched up for nine as the Skyhawks were dealt their first loss. Felician turned in a balanced offensive performance, as six different Golden Falcons recorded two hits.
After scoring one run in the second, Felician exploded for five in the third to open up a 6-0 lead. Freshman infielder Bruce Strickland (Hazlet, New Jersey/Raritan) led the way in the six-hit frame with a two-run double, while classmate Matt Diesel (Massapequa Park, New York/Massapequa) followed with an RBI double.
Stonehill answered in the top of the fourth, cutting into Felician's lead on a two-run single by Hocking, but the Golden Falcons got both runs back in the bottom of the fifth. The two teams would trade single runs in the sixth and seventh, and the Skyhawks capped the scoring in the eighth with the help of a Felician error.
Stonehill (4-1, 0-0 Northeast-10 Conference) will have an 11-day break from competition before heading down to Florida on March 6th for 12 games at the Palm Beach Challenge. The Skyhawks are slated to host Assumption College for their 2015 home opener at Lou Gorman Field on Tuesday, March 31st.
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