Junior lefthander Eric Haughn posted his fourth-straight win, scattering three hits over seven scoreless innings.

Haughn, Von Stein and Shepard combine to fire three-hit shutout

Junior lefthanders Eric Haughn (Pembroke, Mass./Pembroke) and Michael Von Stein (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) and senior righthander Brenden Shepard (Boxford, Mass./Masconomet) combined to fire a three-hit shutout for Stonehill in the one run decision as the Skyhawks ran their winning streak to six games. Haughn won his fourth straight decision (4-1) as he scattered three hits over seven shutout innings, striking out six and walking two. He allowed just one hit over the first six innings, retiring 14 of 15 batters before yielding back-to-back hits with two outs in the seventh. He struck out at least one batter over the first three innings, including the side in order in the top of the first and has allowed just two earned runs over his last 30.2 innings of work (0.59 ERA).

Von Stein and Shepard combined on two perfect innings of relief to seal the win, with Shepard notching his seventh save of the season, each striking out one batter.

Senior Angelo Bruno's RBI triple in the sixth provided the lone run of the day for either team (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Senior Angelo Bruno (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) led the offense for Stonehill as he hit 1-for-4 with a triple and RBI. Junior Michael White (Lisbon, N.H./Lisbon Regional) was 1-for-4 with a stolen base and run scored, extending his team leading hitting streak to 16 games. Junior Steven Popp (Unionville, Conn./Farmington) went 2-for-4 with a stolen base for the Skyhawks, while classmate Kyle Shepard (Boxford, Mass./Masconomet) chipped in by going 1-for-3.

Freshman righthander Nathan Witkowski (Melrose, Mass./Avon Old Farms) was nearly as impressive in defeat (2-3) for Bentley, allowing the one earned run on six hits with three strikeouts and a walk over 6.1 innings. Sophomore lefthander Jeff Croteau (Auburn, Mass./Auburn) retired eight of the nine batters he faced in 2.2 hitless innings of relief, striking out three, for the Falcons.

Sophomore Lamarre Rey (Lynn, Mass./Pingree School) provided the bulk of offense for Bentley, going 2-for-3, while junior Greg Baggett (East Bridgewater, Mass./East Bridgewater) finished 1-for-3 with a walk.

Stonehill scored the lone run of the contest in the sixth as White singled with two out, stole second and then scored on Bruno's triple to center. Bentley loaded the bases on Haughn with two out in the seventh, but the Stonehill lefty struck out the Falcons leadoff batter to escape unscathed and the Skyhawks bullpen took care of things from there.

Stonehill (20-7, 5-2 NE-10) and Bentley (7-15, 1-6 NE-10) will conclude their two game midweek NE-10 series tomorrow at Lou Gorman Field in Easton at 3:30 p.m.