Junior Armand Rugel earned the win today after striking out four and giving up just one hit over his 3.1 innings of work. |
Skyhawks improve to 2-1 in extra inning games in 2014
EASTON, Mass. (April 29, 2014) – Sophomore outfielder Chris Callahan (Southington, Conn./Holy Cross) scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch in the 11th inning as Stonehill College defeated visiting Bentley University this afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division baseball action at Lou Gorman Field.
Seniors Billy Karalis (Pawtucket, R.I./Bishop Feehan) and Dan Fratus (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) each went 2-for-5 at the plate to lead the Skyhawks, while junior Christian Baglini (Milford, Conn./Notre Dame) was 1-for-5 with an RBI single.
Sophomore righthander John Hauck (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn-Trafford) started the game on the mound for Stonehill but did not earn a decision, as he went 6.1 innings and surrendered two runs on five hits to go with five strikeouts and a walk. Junior Steve Pike (Stoughton, Mass./Catholic Memorial) took over for Hauck in the seventh and gave up one unearned run in 1.1 innings of work, while classmate Armand Rugel (Middletown, R.I./Middletown) picked up the win after giving up just one hit over the final 3.1 frames.
Senior Sean Keady (Norwood, Mass./Norwood) and freshman Justin Ashworth (Orange, Conn./Amity Regional) posted matching 2-for-4 efforts to pace the Bentley offense, while freshman Burton Deady (Andover, Mass./Andover) went 1-for-4 with an RBI double.
Senior Scott Lueders (Mansfield, Mass./Newton South) pitched the first seven innings for the Falcons, giving up three runs on seven hits while striking out two and walking three, but he did not earn a decision. Sophomore Will Alden (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) took the loss after going the final 3.2 frames and giving up a run on two hits and two walks.
After cruising through the first five innings and giving up just a single hit, Hauck ran into some trouble in the sixth. Ashworth led off with an infield single before stealing second and advancing to third on a ground out by Keady. Deady came up next and sent a double to left field, plating Ashworth for the game's first run.
Senior Billy Karalis went 2-for-5 at the plate in Stonehill's 4-3 walk-off win againt Bentley. |
Faced with a 1-0 deficit, Stonehill put together a rally in the bottom of the sixth. Sophomore Brian Hocking (Duxbury, Mass./BC High) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and two batters later classmate Chris Hoyt (Walpole, Mass./Xaverian Brothers) drew a walk. After sophomore Brian Campbell (Franklin, Mass./Mount Saint Charles) reached on a fielder's choice, erasing Hoyt at second base, Hocking came around to score on a wild pitch. Baglini then gave the Skyhawks a 2-1 lead, as he ripped an RBI single down the left field line before taking second base on the throw home. Two batters later, Fratus put the finishing touches on Stonehill's three-run sixth with an RBI single to center field.
The following inning, Bentley ended Hauck's outing with consecutive hits, as the sophomore departed with runners on the corners and one out. Pike took over and nearly induced an inning-ending double play, but sophomore Bryan Rocha (Rehoboth, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth Regional) beat out the throw to first base, as the runner on third came in to score and cut Stonehill's lead to 3-2.
The Falcons tied the score with another run in the eighth, and the contest went to extra innings as neither team was able to score in the ninth. With one out in the bottom of the 11th, senior first baseman Anthony Pagano (Cranston, R.I./Cranston West) doubled to right field. Callahan came up next as a pinch hitter, and sent what appeared to be the game-winning single to left field. Pagano was thrown out at the plate for the second out of the inning, but Callahan was able to reach second base on the throw home. After advancing to third on a wild pitch in the next at-bat, Callahan came in to score the game-winning run on Alden's second wild pitch of the inning.
Stonehill (26-16, 15-8 NE-10) will be off tomorrow before opening up a three-game series on Thursday with Merrimack College at Lou Gorman Field. Bentley (20-14, 15-7 NE-10) will be back in action tomorrow with a 3:30 p.m. contest at Merrimack.
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