May 19, 2007

Box Score

HAMDEN, CT - Jeff Mainetti hit a two-out solo homer in the fourth inning to break a tie ballgame and lead the Quinnipiac University baseball team to a 7-6 win and a doubleheader sweep of the visitin Sacred Heart University Pioneers Saturday afternoon. The Bobcats won the opener 9-7.

The sweep lifted Quinnipiac, 28-16 overall and 20-7 in the Northeast Conference, to a share of the NEC regular season title. The Bobcats share the top spot with Mount St. Mary's, but gets the top spot in the upcoming NEC Tournament thanks to beating The Mount in three out of four meetings this year.

Sacred Heart finishes the season 22-31 overall and 12-15 in the NEC. The Pioneers dropped the final eight games of the season.

The Pioneers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second game thanks to a two-run double by senior Jason Maiella in the first inning. However, the Bobcats tagged SHU starter Chris Barthel for four runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 4-2 lead.

Sacred Heart used a two-run homer from junior Jeff Hanson and a double by senior Jamie Morales to score four times in the third and take a 6-4 lead. The Bobcats scored two of their own off SHU reliever Jared Balbach in the bottom of the inning to tie the score.

In the opener, the Pioneers also struck first on an RBI single by Jovan Rodriguez that scored Steve Tedesco in the first.

The game stayed that way until the bottom of the fourth when the Bobcats tagged SHU starter Chris Howard for four runs, three of them on a homer by Randy Gress.

A two-run triple by Rodriguez and an RBI single by senior Bobby McKee tied the game for the Pioneers at 4-4 in the top of the fifth. Two runs in the bottom of the inning put the Bobcats back up by a pair.

RBI singles by Tedesco and Rodriguez for the Pioneers, and an RBI groundout by McKee gave the Pioneers a 7-6 lead in the top of the fifth. Rob Tencza came on in relief for the Pioneers to start the bottom of the inning and got all three Bobcats in order.

Quinnipiac won the game with a three-run bottom of the seventh. Wilson Matos led off the frame with a double and scored on a single by Tim Binkoski. Gress followed with a single, then a two-run double by Mainetti gave the Bobcats the lead that they wouldn't surrender.