Ciulla-Hall belted his fourth homerun of the season to begin the Skyhawks rally in the fourth. (Photo Credit Mary Gettens).

EASTON, Mass. (April 14, 2024) – The Stonehill College baseball team earned its Northeast Conference three-game series victory with a thrilling comeback win at home against Wagner College, 4-3, Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Skyhawks improve to 10-18 overall and 6-9 in conference play, while the Seahawks drop to 15-19 overall and 12-6 against conference opponents. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• Senior Blaine Lidsky paved the way at the plate for the Skyhawks, going 3-for-4 on the day with a run scored.
• Senior Trey Ciulla-Hall launched his fourth homerun of the season.
• Senior reliever Jordan Marot (1-0) earned his first win of the season on the bump after striking out a pair and allowing just one hit over 1.2 innings of relief.
• Postgrad Billy Duff picked up his first save of the season after setting down the final two batters in the top of the ninth.
• Junior Mateo Matthews belted his team-leading fifth homerun of the season for the Seahawks.
• Senior classmates Cole Kumpf and Ariv Camacho as well as junior Albert Serrano finished with two hits on the day for Wagner.
• Sophomore Ryan Bilka earned a quality start for the Seahawks after allowing one earned run over 6.0 innings pitched with six strikeouts.

HOW IT HAPPENED

In the top of the first inning, Wagner took an early lead after a solo line-drive homerun over the right field wall off the bat of Matthews. With the bases loaded and two outs in the inning, a fielding miscue on the right side of the infield allowed Serrano to race home and score, extending the Seahawk's early advantage to 2-0. 

Wagner would extend its lead to three runs in the top of the fourth inning. Kumpf started the frame with a double off the left centerfield fence before freshman Josiah Ross and senior Lukas Torres would reach base via a hit by pitch and walk. Following Torres' free pass, first-year reliever Zach Brockner would relieve senior Joe Castrichini and set down his first batter faced on three straight strikes. However, a pass ball in the dirt would allow all the runners to advance a base, including Kumpf, coming across to score. 

Stonehill started a rally in the fourth inning after Ciulla-Hall hit a solo shot over the left centerfield fence, reducing the Skyhawk's deficit to 3-1. Two innings later in the sixth, Stonehill leveled the game at three aside. Lidsky got things going in the frame with his third base knock of the afternoon, while senior Jack Marshall followed, reaching base via a two-out line-drive dropped by the Wagner third baseman. 

With a second opportunity granted by the two-out error, junior Taylor Gaspar singled through the right side to score Lidsky, bringing the score to 3-2. In the next at-bat, a passed ball thrown by Bilka on the mound allowed Marshall to come across and score the game-tying run for the Skyhawks. 

Stonehill would take its first lead of the afternoon in the bottom of the seventh inning. Junior Dylan Zemotel laced a double down the left field line before exiting the game for pinch-runner freshman Ryan LeClair. With no one out and a runner in scoring position, redshirt sophomore Sam Parks laid down a two-strike sacrifice bunt to advance LeClair 90 feet away from home. Postgrad left fielder Conor Kiely stepped up to the dish and lined an RBI single into left centerfield, giving the Skyhawks a 4-3 lead on the board.

Junior Max Brulport and Duff would seal the victory in the bottom of the ninth inning, stranding a runner on third and capping off the Skyhawks' series win. 

INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES

Castrichini along with the Stonehill bullpen allowed just one run over 8.0 innings of relief. (Photo Credit Craig Myers).

• Stonehill's bullpen of Castrichini, Brockner, Marot, Brulport, and Duff were stellar on the mound, combing for eight complete innings and allowing just one run.
• Redshirt sophomore Peter Haas got the start on the hill for the Skyhawks.
• LeClair recorded his second double, while Zemotel laced his first of the year.
• Ciulla-Hall and Gaspar improved their on-base streaks to 11 and 14 games, respectively.
• Freshman Griffin White (0-2) took the loss after allowing the Skyhawks fourth run of the contest.
• Graduate student Alec Burnett struck out three batters in 1.2 innings of relief for Wagner.

UP NEXT

Stonehill (10-18, 6-9 NEC) returns to action on Tuesday for non-conference midweek matchup against Harvard. First pitch between the Skyhawks and Crimson from Lou Gorman Field is set for 3:30 p.m.

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.