| Dieter got the scoring started for the Skyhawks with an RBI single in the second inning. (Photo Credit Crystal Ayn Hagberg). |
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (April 6, 2024) – The Stonehill College baseball team earned its fourth straight victory after securing an 11-7 win in game one of its three-game series against Northeast Conference opponent Le Moyne College Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Skyhawks improve to 8-13 overall and 4-6 in conference play, while the Dolphins drop to 10-14 overall and 6-6 against conference opponents.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Junior Taylor Gaspar, senior Blaine Lidsky, and redshirt junior Jack Thorbahn paved the way at the dish with three hits apiece.
- Lidsky, postgrad Conor Kiely, and sophomore Evan Dieter each scored two runs for the Skyhawks.
- Freshman Braydon Gray (2-1) picked up the win on the mound after entering the game in the bottom of the first and allowing just one earned run over 5.0 innings of relief.
- Senior Jason Boule highlighted the Dolphin's offense, launching his second homerun of the season in the seventh inning.
- Sophomore Adam Sullivan and sophomore Brody Keneston also tallied their third and sixth stolen bases of the season for Le Moyne.
- Senior Max Parker (2-1) took the loss on the hill after allowing 10 runs, four of them earned, over 4.2 innings of work for the Dolphins.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Le Moyne wasted little time jumping to an early two-run lead after the opening frame. However, during the next half inning, in the top of the second, the Skyhawks responded with a pair of runs to tie the game up at two.
Dieter initiated the scoring for Stonehill with an RBI line drive single into center field, bringing in Lidsky, who had started the inning with a single up the middle. With the bases loaded and two outs on the board, Kiely stepped up and delivered an RBI single through the left side of the infield, scoring Gaspar and leveling the game at 2-2.
Following Stonehill's two-run top half, the Dolphins continued the theme of trading runs back and forth. An RBI single off the bat of graduate student Nick Nevins regained the Le Moyne advantage on the scoreboard before a bases-loaded walk drawn by junior Benji Ries extended the Dolphin lead to 4-2 heading into the third.
Stonehill cut the deficit in half in the top of the fourth after freshman Ryan LeClair lifted a sacrifice fly into right field. The Skyhawks would continue their momentum in the fifth inning, opening the floodgates and scoring eight runs to take a commanding 11-4 lead.
A pair of bases-loaded walks and hit-by-pitches to Dieter, Thorbahn, redshirt sophomore Sam Parks, and senior Trey Ciulla-Hall resulted in four runs to come across and score in the fifth. In addition, Gaspar, Kiely, and Lidsky each added to their solid days at the plate, driving home the final four runs for the Skyhawks.
Despite the Dolphins' effort to reduce their deficit to four in the bottom of the seventh, courtesy of Boule's three-run blast over the left-centerfield wall, the Skyhawks' lead was insurmountable as Stonehill emerged victorious in game one with a final score of 11-7.
| Gray earned his second win of the season on the mound for Stonehill. (Photo Credit Crystal Ayn Hagberg). |
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES
- The four-game win streak marks the longest for the Skyhawks in the NCAA Division I era for Stonehill.
- Lidsky, Parks, and Ciulla-Hall each extended their hitting streak to three, four, and six games, respectively.
- Parks is also riding a nine-game on-base streak, while Thorbahn has reached base in eight straight games for the Skyhawks.
- Freshman Zach Brockner and senior Joe Castrichini combined to strike out three batters over 4.0 innings of relief.
UP NEXT
Stonehill (8-13, 4-6 NEC) rounds out its three-game set against NEC foe Le Moyne College on Sunday with a doubleheader. First pitch of game one between the Skyhawks and Dolphins from Dick Rockwell Field in Syracuse, N.Y., is set for 12 p.m.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
