Box Score BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – In his final career start at Harbor Yard, Robbie Maguire allowed just one earned run over seven innings, and the Sacred Heart offense produced 20 hits, including a 6-6 day by Zack Short, as the Pioneers defeated the second place Wagner Seahawks 14-4 on senior day Sunday afternoon. The win salvaged a split for the Pioneers, who improve to an even .500 and move one game clear of the third place in the Northeast Conference at 10-10. Overall, they are 16-28-1. The Seahawks will head into the final week of the regular at 13-7 in the league as well as 25-19-1 overall.
With the score 4-3 going into the bottom of the seventh, Sacred Heart put together its best offensive inning of the season, scoring eight runs to all but seal the split. Highlighting the big inning was senior Kenny Byram's first career home run in his final collegiate home game, a grand slam down the left field line to put the Pioneers ahead 10-3, as well as Short going 2-2 in the frame. In total, 13 Pioneers came to the plate in the inning that had seven hits and two Wagner errors.
Short began it all with a single before Victor Sorrento drove him in after a stolen base. The Seahawks helped during the next at bat, attempting and failing to throw out Sorrento at second on Ted Shaw's sacrifice bunt. Following a strikeout, again there was a Wagner blunder, as the pitcher threw away a suicide squeeze by Cody Doyle which made the score 6-3. Keaton Flint was then hit by a pitch, brining Byram to the plate for the memorable grand slam. Sacred Heart was not done there though, as Sullivan, Medina, and Short all singled with Medina's extending the lead to eight. Shaw capped it all off with yet another single, bringing home Medina for SHU's eighth run of the frame. Short added a two RBI single in the eighth, scoring Flint and Sullivan, who had both singled.
The twenty hits were two shy of tying the school record 22, which was set set at Central Connecticut on April 9, 2009. In addition to becoming the ninth player in the country with at least six hits in a game this year, Short also scored twice and drove two more in. Byram ended the day 3-5 with five RBI's, both of which were a career best. Medina and Sullivan each had three hits as well, with Medina scoring three times and Sullivan scoring twice. Doyle went 2-4 with two runs scored and a RBI, and Shaw and Sorrento had three and two RBI's respectively.
Maguire gave up six hits and walked four more batters, but was able to work his way out of trouble all day as he won his third game of the year. His lone earned run allowed came on a home run in the sixth.
Matt Cooney threw the final two innings, giving up a run on three hits.
SHU scored one run in both the second and third before Wagner came back to tie it in the fourth. It was Byram driving in the second inning run with a double to right field. Doyle, who had singled with two outs to keep the inning alive, scored the game's opening run. The Seahawks had a chance to tie it in the top of the third, but Maguire was able to work his way out of a first and third situation with zero outs, as he struck out the next hitter before inducing an inning ending double play. Then in the bottom half, Shaw's RBI groundout scored Medina, who had led off with a single.
Wagner finally struck in the fourth, trying the game with two unearned runs. A leadoff walk and error put runners on first and second with zero outs and they were sacrificed over to second and third. Another base on balls then loaded the bases, allowing Zack Yesko's sacrifice fly to cut the deficit in half. Sean Mazzio then evened things up at two with a single through the right side.
Again it was Medina leading off an inning with a single in the fifth, which eventually led to SHU taking back the lead with two runs. Short then singled to advance Medina to third, and with heads up base running, took second on the throw. Sorrento put Sacred Heart back on top with a sacrifice fly, also moving Short up to third in the process. It was another heads up base running effort by Short that doubled the Pioneer lead in the next at bat, as he hesitated at third on a Shaw groundout to first base before breaking when the first baseman turned his back. A headfirst slide allowed him to beat the throw for a 4-2 advantage. Nick Dini led off the sixth with a homer over the left field fence to pull Wagner within one.
Both Dini and Nick Mascelli had two hits for the Seahawks, with Dini also scoring twice. Mike Adams took the loss, allowing ten hits and four earned over the first six innings. Battaglia was only able to get one out to begin the seventh, as he gave up four earned. Paul Mammino then allowed two earned, as he could not get an out. Austin Goeke pitched the final 1.2 innings, scattering five hits that led to two earned runs.
The Pioneers end the season with a four game series at in-state foe Central Connecticut State beginning on Thursday at 3 pm. Two wins in the series will clinch a berth for SHU in the Northeast Conference tournament, which begins the following Thursday at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Conn.
