Junior Billy Karalis went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI for Stonehill in game one (PHOTO BY Bert Lane)

COLCHESTER, Vt. (April 14, 2013) – The Stonehill College baseball team took one of two games from the Saint Michael's College Purple Knights in a Northeast-10 Conference twinbill Sunday afternoon in Colchester, Vt.

Saint Michael's 9, Stonehill 1

Kelley pitches seven strong as Saint Michael's takes game one.

Senior Jacob Begnoche (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI to lead the way for the Purple Knights. Sophomores Nicky Elderton (Shelburne, Vt./Rice Memorial) and Danny Caddigan (Clarksville, Md./River Hill) also registered RBIs for Saint Michael's in the victory.

Junior outfielder Billy Karalis (Pawtucket, R.I./Bishop Feehan) led the Skyhawks, going 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI. Freshman Chris Hoyt (Walpole, Mass./Xaverian Brothers) registered two hits and a run scored for Stonehill in game one.

Senior left-hander Andrew Kelley (Lincoln, N.H./Lin-Wood) pitched seven strong innings to earn the victory for Saint Michael's. Kelley struck out seven batters and held the Skyhawks to one earned run on six hits and three walks. Sophomore Barry Mailey (Moosup, Conn./Plainfield) relieved Kelley and tossed two scoreless innings for the Purple Knights. Mailey held Stonehill to just one hit while striking out two.

Junior Zach Soulier (Milford, Conn./Jonathan Law) gave up four earned runs on nine hits and was tagged with the loss for the Skyhawks. Sophomore Ryan Rougeot (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) pitched one inning of relief and was charged with four runs on four hits and one walk. Freshman Patrick Nicholson (Middleboro, Mass./Middleboro) also appeared for Stonehill, yielding one run on two hits and two walks.

Stonehill scored one run in the first to take an early lead. Hoyt opened the inning with a single to third base and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Karalis then drove in Hoyt with an RBI-single, giving Stonehill a 1-0 advantage.

The Purple Knights responded with a run in the fourth to tie the score. With one out in the inning, Elderton forced a walk. The next batter, Begnoche, roped an RBI-double to left center field to tie the game.

Saint Michael's took the lead in the fifth, knocking in three runs. Following two singles, Don McGuirl (Warwick, R.I./Saint Sebastian's School) stepped to the plate with runners on first and third. McGuirl reached on a fielder's choice to second base, scoring the second run of the game for Saint Mike's. Two batters later, Caddigan hit an RBI-triple to center field to make it 3-1 Purple Knights. Elderton later added an RBI-single through the right side to cap off the inning.

With the Purple Knights ahead 6-1 in the seventh, George Buteau (Burlington, Vt./Trinity-Pawling School) roped an RBI-double to right field to make it 6-1. Jason Moore (Avon, Conn./Northwest Catholic) and David Valley (Essex, Vt./Essex) added RBI singles later in the inning to make it 8-1.

Begnoche earned another RBI in the bottom of the eighth to cap the scoring for the Purple Knights.

Junior Dan Fratus recorded two hits and two RBI to pilot the Skyhawks offense in game two (PHOTO BY Bert Lane)

Stonehill 6, Saint Michael's 3

Five Skyhawks record RBIs as Stonehill comes back to take game two.

Junior Dan Fratus (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) recorded two hits and two RBI to pilot the Skyhawk offense in game two. Hoyt, Karalis, James DeAlto (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y./Briarcliff), and Brian Campbell (Franklin, Mass./Mount Saint Charles) also notched RBIs for the Skyhawks.

Valley recorded one hit, one run, and one RBI to pace the Purple Knights in game two. Elderton and McGuirl also collected RBIs in the loss.

Sophomore Neal Horan (Mashpee, Mass./BC High) pitched eight innings to earn his second win of the season for Stonehill. Horan gave up three earned runs on eight hits and struck out eight batters in the victory. Sophomore Steve Pike (Stoughton, Mass./Catholic Memorial) pitched two-thirds of an inning to earn the save for the Skyhawks.

Freshman Curt Echo (Shelburne, Vt./Champlain Valley Union) gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits in 2.2 innings to earn the loss for Saint Michael's. Kevin Guild (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) pitched 5.1 innings of relief for the Purple Knights. Guild struck out five batters, but gave up two runs on eight hits in the outing.

The Skyhawks grabbed another early lead in game two, scoring one run in the first. After DeAlto reached on an error by the pitcher, Fratus got Stonehill on the board when he hit an RBI-single to right field.

Stonehill extended its lead with three runs in the fourth inning. Karalis stepped to bat with Hoyt on third and DeAlto on first following back-to-back singles. Karalis made it 2-0 when he hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Hoyt. Fratus then made it 3-0 when he singled home DeAlto. Two batters later, Campbell added the fourth Skyhawks run when he hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Fratus.

Freshman Neal Horan pitched 8.1 innings and struck out eight batters to earn the victory in game two (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Saint Michael's responded with two runs in the bottom of the third. Moore singled and scored on Valley's RBI-double to left field, scoring the first Purple Knights' run. Two batters later McGuirl hit an RBI-single, plating Valley for the second run.

With the score still locked at 4-2, Hoyt added to the Skyhawks lead in the sixth. After Michael Zeiner (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury) singled and stole second base, Hoyt drove-in Zeiner with an RBI-single to make it 4-2 Stonehill.

DeAlto made it 6-2 in the eighth. With one out in the inning, Hoyt singled to center field. He advanced to third after a stolen base and an error. DeAlto scored Hoyt with a sacrifice fly to right field, giving Stonehill a four run advantage.

Saint Micheal's chipped away at the lead in the bottom of the eighth. With runners on second and third, Elderton hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score the third run of the game for Saint Michael's. Horan and Pike closed the door after that, retiring four of the final five batters to clinch the victory.

Stonehill returns to action Tuesday afternoon when it travels to UMass Lowell. The Skyhawks and River Hawks will continue the April 2^nd game that was halted in the 15^th inning before playing another NE-10 Conference matchup. THe action begins at 3:00 pm in Lowell, Mass. Next up for Saint Michael's (9-19, 6-12) is a meeting with Southern New Hampshire Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 pm.

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