(Bridgeport, CT) – In a another wild back-and-forth game, the Quinnipiac Bobcats scored five times on the ninth to come from behind, staving off a Pioneer ninth-inning rally to hold on for a 9-8 win over the Sacred Heart Baseball team Sunday night at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard. 

After the Bobcats scored twice in the eighth to tie the Pioneers at four, SHU reclaimed the lead on a bases-loaded RBI single by Hunter Phillips.  However, the Pioneers settled for one despite loading the bases with nobody out, as Matthew Siciliano struck out three in a row.  He would go on to earn the win, as Sacred Heart would strand 17 runners before the night was over.

Down 5-4 in the ninth, Quinnipiac sent ten batters to the plate to take a 9-5 lead.  Zack Palmer singled to right to bring home the tying run, and Vincent Guglietti tripled over the first base bag for his fourth hit of the night to give QU the lead.  Nic Civale, Gabe Guerino, Brian Ruditys, and Jesse Ulrich all followed with RBI hits to give the Bobcats insurance they would need.

The Pioneers fought back to cut the deficit to one, getting the tying run to second with one out in the bottom of the ninth.  After three straight walks, Troy Scribner (Washington Depot, CT) cleared the bases with a three-run double to right centerfield, but that is as close as the Pioneers would get.

The Pioneers cruised through 6.2 innings, leading 3-0 before the Bobcats scored twice with two outs in the seventh.  Keaton Flint (Charlton, NY) scored the first of his three runs on a wild pitch in the first for SHU.  Derick Horn (Valatie, NY) added another with sacrifice fly in the fourth, followed by an RBI single by John Murphy (Seymour, CT) in the fifth.  Kody Kerski (Waterbury, CT) breezed his way through the first six innings, shutting down the Bobcats on 12 groundouts before Ruditys and Ullrich delivered two-out RBI singles to chase him from the game in the seventh.

Horn got a run back for SHU in the seventh with an RBI single to center, but Quinnipiac tied it on Scott Donaghue's bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly by Ruditys in the eighth.

Murphy and Phillips both finished with three hits and an RBI a piece for SHU.  Sacred Heart did win the series despite the loss, narrowly missing out on a chance for a sweep.  The Pioneers, now 14-10 in NEC play, return to action for a big four-game weekend series at Wagner beginning Friday, May 4 at 3:00 pm.