EASTON, Mass. (May 12, 2024) – The Stonehill College baseball team earned an 8-7 walk-off victory in the tenth inning of a Northeast Conference matchup against Norfolk State Sunday afternoon at Lou Gorman Field. With the win, the Skyhawks improve to 18-25 overall and 13-14 in conference play, while the Spartans drop to 12-38 overall and 7-23 against conference opponents.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Graduate student Conor Kiely capped off Stonehill's final home game of the season with a line drive single through the left side of the infield to bring in freshman Ryan LeClair for the first walk-off win for the Skyhawks.
- Kiely picked up three base hits in six at-bats with two RBI and two runs scored.
- Sophomore Jimmy Gilleran (3-4) notched his third win of the season, striking out three of the six batters he faced while giving up one hit in 1.2 innings pitched.
- Senior Trey Ciulla-Hall hit his team-leading 13th home run of the season with a three-run blast in the first inning. Ciula-Hall finished the day 2-5 with four RBI.
- Redshirt Sophomore Sam Parks slashed a 2-3 day at the plate with two singles and two walks drawn, scoring twice while driving in a run.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After back-to-back singles from Parks and Kiely to start the game, Ciulla-Hall got a hold of a pitch over the plate and sent it soaring over the left field wall to give the Skyhawks a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Junior Dylan Zemotel took a ball off the chest to reach base in the second before advancing into scoring position on a ground-out before a single up the middle from Parks brought Zemotel home, increasing the Skyhawk lead to 4-0.
After a scoreless third, Norfolk State got on the board in the fourth with a two-run home run to left field by Justin Journette to cut the Stonehill lead in half. The Spartans added another run in the fourth with an RBI double into the left centerfield gap by Kydese Queen.
Both teams were held scoreless in the fifth and sixth but Norfolk State took its first lead of the game in the top of the seventh thanks to a two-run double down the right-field line by Jamal Ritter. An RBI ground out later in the inning brought Ritter in to score as the Spartans led 6-4 heading into the later stages of the game.
Norfolk State tacked on an insurance run in the ninth as Ritter tallied his third RBI of the game as the Spartans led 7-4 going into the home half of the ninth.
Down to their final three outs, the Skyhawks opened the half inning with a triple from LeClair before Parks drew a walk, leading to an RBI single from Kiely to make it 7-5. Ciulla-Hall came up to bat next, plating another run with a single through the left side to cut the deficit to just one run. After a pop-up to the pitcher on a bunt attempt, senior Blaine Lidsky tied things up with another single past the outstretched arm of the Spartans third baseman that brought Kiely in from second base.
The two NEC foes went to extra innings and Gilleran struck out two in the top of the tenth to hold the Spartans scoreless.
LeClair singled up the middle before a Parks sacrifice bunt moved him into scoring position and Kiely capped off senior day with a single in between third and shortstop as LeClair turned on the jets to score from second, giving the Skyhawks their first walk-off win of the season.
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES
- Ciulla-Hall improved his on-base streak to 26 games while Parks and Zemotel have now each reached base in 18 consecutive games.
- Over his 26-game hit streak, Ciulla-Hall has recorded at least one hit in 22 games.
- Marshall is now riding a team-leading nine-game hitting streak.
- Stonehill's last walk-off win at Lou Gorman Field was on May 2, 2021, when the Skyhawks won back-to-back games of a doubleheader via walk-off fashion against Saint Anselm.
UP NEXT
Stonehill (18-25, 13-14 NEC) plays its final non-conference game of the season at Bryant University on Tuesday, beginning at 4 p.m. at Conaty Park.
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