BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Trailing 5-3 entering the sixth inning, Bryant batted around and scored five runs to take the lead and eventually pull away from Sacred Heart for a 10-5 win in game one of a Northeast Conference series on Friday afternoon at Harbor Yard. The loss is the fifth in a row for SHU, including fourth straight in NEC play, to drop the Pioneers to 14-24-1 and 7-6 in the league. Bryant snaps a two game skid to move one game within .500 at 18-19, and is now 9-4 in Northeast Conference play.

The sixth inning began with a fly out before the next five batters all reached base. After AJ Zarozny and Buck McCarthy got aboard on a single and walk, Jordan Mountford followed a Dan Cellucci RBI single with one of his own to tie the game at five. Cecllucci then came into score on a wild pitch on Dan Wertz's first faced batter, giving the Bulldogs a lead it would not relinquish the remainder of the game. Brandon Bingle added to the lead with a RBI triple that traveled just over first base before Robby Rinn capped the big inning with a two out, RBI single to score Bingel for the 8-5 advantage. Bryant would add one run in each the eighth and ninth on a Rinn double and Zarozny home run to complete the scoring, as Sacred Heart had just one base runner in its final four at bats.

Dan Schock had two of the five Pioneer hits and also stole a base. Ted Shaw, Jesus Medina and PJ DeFilippo recorded the other three. Shaw also had one run and one RBI, while DeFilippo drove a run in and Medina scored once. Zack Short led SHU with two runs.

Jason Foley held Bryant to just three hits through the first five innings, but could not get out of the fifth in earning the loss. He threw the first 5.1 innings, allowing seven earned runs on six hits and six walks. Wertz gave up one run on three hits in 1.2 innings, while Ethan Lonardelli pitched the final two frames, allowing two earned on four hits.

Zarozny paced the Bulldogs' 13 hit afternoon with a 3-4 day, scoring three runs and driving in two more. Mountford, Bingel, Rinn, Cellucci, and Cole Fabio also all had two hits, as six of the nine Bryant starters recorded multiple hit days. Cellucci led the Bulldogs with three RBI's, while Rinn added two of his own and Mountford scored twice.

After allowing five earned through the first five innings, Kyle Wilcox settled down to retire the final seven he faced to improve to 6-1 in 2015. He threw seven innings, scattering just four hits but walking three and hitting two more en route to the five runs. James Davitt's lone blemish in his two innings of work was a two out single in the ninth.

It was a first inning double steal that gave Sacred Heart the early lead. Short stole second, drawing a throw from the catcher that Medina read to come in for the first run of the game.  After a DeFilippo walk, Shaw singled home Short with two outs for a two run advantage. The Bulldogs instantly answered in their next at bat, as Rabio doubled with one out and then came around to score on Zarozny's single.

Bryant took its first lead in the fourth, with Celucci delivering a two out, two RBI single to drive in McCarthy and Zarozny, who had drawn consecutive walks. The damage could have been worse for SHU had Jayson Sullivan not made a diving catch in left center to rob Bingel of a sure RBI extra base knock for the third out of the inning. 

Sacred Heart first tied things back up in the fourth before establishing the two run 5-3 lead in the fifth. The fourth inning run was scored without a hit, as Shaw generated it by working a base on balls and then stealing second. Anthony Capozziello played his part by moving Shaw over to third on a groundout to second before Friar successfully executed the RBI situation with a groundout to third. Again the Pioneers took advantage of a free pass to begin the fifth after Sullivan was hit by a pitch. Medina's single then gave SHU runners on first and third with none away, setting up an RBI opportunity for Short, who came through with a RBI fielder's choice. Short then helped produce the next run by stealing second, which allowed him to come home for on DeFilippo's two out RBI single through the left side.

The second and third place teams in the NEC will resume their four game series tomorrow at Harbor Yard with a doubleheader. First pitch of game one is set for 1 pm.