Senior Shane Franz had three hits, including a double and home run, in today's sweep of Saint Anselm (PHOTO BY Richard Orr).

Stonehill Keeps Rolling with Saint Anselm Sweep

Skyhawks hang on for 7-5 NE-10 win in game one,
rally for 7-4 non-conference victory in game two

MANCHESTER, N.H. (April 25, 2010) – Stonehill College kept building its momentum with its second-straight doubleheader sweep in as many days with a pair of wins at Saint Anselm College in baseball action at Sullivan Park this afternoon. The Skyhawks held on for a 7-5 victory in the opening NE-10 contest, before rallying for a 7-4 win in the non-conference game two matchup.

Senior Shane Franz (Cazenovia, N.Y./Cazenovia) hit a combined 3-for-10 on the afternoon for Stonehill with a double, home run and two RBI. Skyhawk pitching, led by junior righthander Alex McCormick (Weymouth, Mass./Cardinal Spellman), allowed just four earned runs on the afternoon in posting its seventh win over the last nine games.

Freshman Robert Kelly (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./Rancho Margarita Catholic) led Saint Anselm by hitting a combined 3-for-6 with a pair of walks, three runs scored, a double and RBI. Junior James Garrigan (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) batted a combined 4-for-9 with two runs scored.

Stonehill 7, Saint Anselm 5 – Game 1
Boxscore

Stonehill held off a ninth-inning rally to post a 7-5 win in the Northeast-10 contest to open the doubleheader. The Skyhawks didn’t allow a single earned run on the afternoon.

Shane Franz paced Stonehill’s ten-hit attack as he batted 2-for-5 with a double, home run and two RBI. Senior Rob Von Stein (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) hit 2-for-4 with an RBI, while senior Mitch Davis (Bow, N.H./Bow) finished 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Sophomore Rich McHugh (Pembroke, Mass./Thayer Academy) chipped in by going 1-for-4 with a double, RBI and run scored.

Junior Alex McCormick didn't allow an earned run in six strong innings of work.

Alex McCormick earned the win (4-3), allowing three unearned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and a walk over six innings. Junior Dan Corrigan (Portsmouth, R.I./Portsmouth) also turned in two perfect innings of relief with a strikeout.

James Garrigan led Saint Anselm as he hit 4-for-5 with a run scored, while Robert Kelly finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored. Freshman Richie Manzi (Plymouth, N.H./Plymouth Regional) chipped in by going 1-for-5 with an RBI and run scored.

Sophomore John Healy (Cranston, R.I./Cranston East) took the loss (5-4), allowing four runs, two earned, on six hits with six strikeouts and a walk over seven innings.

Stonehill staked out a 3-0 lead after three innings, getting a pair of runs in the top of the first. Davis led off with a walk, advancing to third on a fielder’s choice and error, before scoring on a double to left by McHugh. Junior Scott Hackett (Bangor, Maine/Bangor), who reached on a fielder’s choice, scored on ground out by classmate Angelo Bruno (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk). The Skyhawks added a run in the third when Davis led off with a double and scored when Hackett reached on an error.

Saint Anselm came back with three unearned runs in the fourth taking advantage of two Stonehill errors. Manzi had an RBI single, while Kelly drew a bases-loaded walk and junior Matt Sucharewicz (Peabody, Mass./Peabody) added a sacrifice fly.

Stonehill regained the lead in the sixth on Franz’s third home run of the season with two out. The Skyhawks got three valuable insurance runs over their last two at bats, with Von Stein posting an RBI single in the eighth before scoring a pair of runs after the first two batters were retired in the ninth. Junior Nick Nardacci (Glenmont, N.H./Bethlehem Central) laced an RBI single to center, before Franz roped an RBI double to left center.

Saint Anselm wouldn’t go quietly, scoring twice and leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. Garrigan singled to center and later scored on an error, while freshman Rett Ostafin (Avon, Conn./Suffield Academy) drew a bases-loaded walk. Sophomore Michael Von Stein (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) recovered and got a strikeout to clinch the win.

Stonehill 7, Saint Anselm 4 – Game 2
Boxscore

Stonehill overcame an early deficit to post a 7-4 victory in a non-conference matchup in game two.

Senior Ryan Healey was 3-for-5 with a home run in game two. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Senior Ryan Healey (Lynn, Mass./Lynn English) paced Stonehill’s 11-hit attack as he went 3-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI. Sophomore Michael White (Lisbon, N.H./Lisbon Regional) hit 2-for-5 with a stolen base, and run scored, while sophomore Steven Popp (Unionville, Conn./Farmington) finished 2-for-4 with a pair of stolen bases, a run scored and RBI.

Junior righthander Bryan Galligan (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) earned the win (3-1), allowing four earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts and three walks over six innings. Senior Joe SantaBarbara (Danvers, Mass./Masconomet) collected his first save of the season, working around a hit with one strikeout in a scoreless ninth.

Matt Sucharewicz hit 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI, while sophomore Daniel DeCoste (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) batted 1-for-2 with a walk, run scored and RBI. Robert Kelly finished 1-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.

Sophomore righthander Timothy Cooney (East Bridgewater, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) took the loss (0-3), surrendering six runs, four earned, on eight hits with five strikeouts and two walks over five innings.

After the teams traded runs in the second inning, Saint Anselm took the lead in the third as Kelly drew a two-out walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch and then scored on a double down the leftfield line from Sucharewicz.

Stonehill knotted the score in the fourth with Popp’s RBI single, and then opened a two-run lead in the fifth with Healey’s first homerun of the season – a two-run shot to right. Saint Anselm answered with two runs of its own in the bottom of the frame with an RBI groundout by Sucharewicz and a sacrifice fly by DeCoste.

Stonehill took the lead for good with a two-run sixth as Popp singled a later scored on an error, before freshman Michael Zeiner (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury) added a sac fly. The Skyhawks tacked on an insurance run in the eighth on an RBI single from sophomore Michael Magnussen (Carver, Mass./Coyle & Cassidy).

Stonehill (22-16, 14-9 NE-10) is back in action on Wednesday, when it hosts Saint Anselm (10-28, 8-15 NE-10) for a Northeast-10 clash at Lou Gorman Field at 3:30 p.m.