April 20, 2008

Box Score

BRIDGEPORT, CT - Sophomore third baseman JJ Edwards (Endwell, NY) had three hits and three RBI to help lead the Sacred Heart baseball team to an 11-8 win over visiting Mount St. Mary's in a Northeast Conference battle Sunday. The win helped the Pionees split the four-game weekend series.

The Mount, 10-23 overall and 6-5 in the NEC, took a 2-0 lead off SHU starter Matt Fitton (Lebanon, CT) in the first thanks to a Pioneer error. Shane Eyler and Matt Eiden started the game with back-to-back singles. After Fitton got the next hitter to fly out, Josh Vittek lifted a fly to left the was misplayed by SHU left fielder Ryan Lynch that allowed Eyler to score. Glen Murray followed with an RBI single to score the second run.

The Pioneers, 6-29 and 4-8, scored four times in the bottom of the third. Mike Drowne reached on an infield single with one out. Phil Tantillo followed with a single up the middle and Edwards plated Drowne with a single to left. Tyler Santos singled to right to load the bases, and Lynch hit a sacrifice fly to center to score the second run. On the relay home on the sac fly, Vittek threw the ball away to allow the runners to advance to second and third. DH Paul Schmidt made it hurt with a two-run single to center to make it 4-2.

After making it 5-2 in the fourth thanks to an MJ Schifano single and two wild pitches, the Pioneers exploded for six in the fifth inning to open up an 11-3 lead. Mount reliever Mike Matta hit Tyler Santos to lead off the frame but then struck out Lynch. SHU followed the K with five consecutive singles that put four runs on the board.

With runners on second and third and two outs, Edwards hit a slow bouncing ball to second for an infield hit. Both runners scored on the play when the throw from second was low and picked out of the dirt by Vittek. Catcher Steve Armato scored the second run when he recognized Vittek's attention was not on the baserunners and he turned third and scored.

Fitton escaped a huge hole in the top of the fifth when the Mount loaded the bases with one out and one run already in. Edwards helped his pitcher out of the jam when the next hitter, Ryan Murray, ripped a ball to third that Edwards scooped and started a 5-4-3 double play.

After keeping the mount off the board in the sixth, Fitton came back out for the seventh and gave up a single to Eyler and walked Eiden. Chris Barthel (Northford, CT) came out of the bullpen for the Pioneers and walked the first batter he faced. He struck out Vittek but gave up a two-run double to left by Murray. Kyle Kane followed with an infield hit that scored another run to cut the SHU lead to 11-6.

Jimmy Mudgett came on to pitch for the Mountaineers with two outs in the fifth. He retired the first seven Pioneers he faced and kept them off the board through the eighth inning.

Barthel pitched a perfect eighth for SHU but gave up a single and a triple in the ninth to get the Mount back to 11-7. Freshman Mick Oswald (Mineola, NY) came on with runners at the corners and one out. His first pitch went off the glove of Armato for a passed ball to allow the 8th Mount run to score. He got left fielder Matt Staso to ground out for the second out and struck out pinch hitter Ryan Stamp to end the game.

The win for Fitton moved him to 1-5 on the season and Oswald picked up his first save.

The Pioneers will be in action on Tuesday at home with a single game against URI starting at 3 p.m.