BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Surrendering a 4-1 lead with two outs in the top of the seventh, the Sacred Heart baseball team battled through five innings of extra inning baseball until Victor Sorrento delivered a pinch hit, bases loaded, walkoff single to lift the Pioneers over visiting Bryant 5-4 in game two of a doubleheader at Harbor Yard on Saturday. The win salvaged a split for SHU, who had been defeated 15-0 by the Bulldogs in game one. With the split, Sacred Heart stays above .500 in the NEC at 8-7, and snaps a six game losing streak to move up to 15-25-1 this season. Bryant is now tied atop the NEC standings at 10-5, and falls one game below .500 to 19-20 overall.

Game Two 

Jesus Medina singled in between the first two outs of the twelfth, giving PJ DeFilippo an opportunity to extend the inning, which he did with a two out single. It was then Keith Klebart who battled to keep the frame alive, working a bases loaded walk to bring Sorrento to the plate for the pinch-hit opportunity. After fouling the first pitch he faced, Sorrento calmly drove the second pitch over the left fielder's head in the left center field gap to set off the SHU celebration. 

It was the relief effort of Dan Wertz and Jesus Medina that kept Sacred Heart alive until the twelfth. After giving up the game tying RBI single on the first pitch he threw in the seventh, Wertz responded by shutting out the Bulldogs over the next 4.1 innings, allowing just three hits and striking out four. Medina then came on for the twelfth and worked a 1-2-3 inning to send the game to the bottom half and earn his third win of the year. Wertz had relieved starter James Cooksey, who was throwing a gem until he ran into trouble with two outs in the seventh. Cooksey finished with a final line of 6.2 innings, allowing seven hits and four earned runs.

Medina and DeFilippo were two of the four Pioneers with two hits in the nightcap, joining Keaton Flint and Jayson Sullivan. DeFilippo also drove in two runs on a two RBI single in a four run third, while Medina's game winning run was his second of the game. Flint also walked twice and scored a run, while Sullivan scored once and drove in another.

Cooksey was well on his way to a complete game as he retired the first two batters of the seventh leaving just one out remaining. He would walk the next hitter though before Joe Paparelli kept the game alive with a pinch-hit single. Jordan Mountford  then came through with a single before Brandon Bingel finally cut into the lead with a two RBI single. That would be the end of the day for Cooksey, who was still in line for the win with runners on first and third. In came Wertz, whose first pitch to Matthew Albanese snuck through the right side for Bryant's fourth consecutive two out hit, capping the rally and tying the game at four. The Bulldogs still had an opportunity to take the lead, as there were runners on first and third, but Wertz put an end to the rally by inducing a grounder to send the game to the bottom of the seventh and eventually extra innings. 

Aside from the eighth inning, neither team advanced runners to scoring position before SHU's game winning twelfth. Bryant's best opportunity came after Cole Fabio beat out an infield single and moved up to third on an error on a pickoff attempt. Facing a dilemma for the second consecutive frame, three of Wertz's four strikeouts came on the next three hitters, as he struck out the side to strand Fabio. Klebart led off the eighth with a walk before being advanced to second by Kenny Byram. Ross Weiner would strand Klebart there though in what would turn out to be his biggest jam.

Weiner was the star for the Bulldogs, as he came into the game in the third and tossed the next 6.2 innings without allowing a run. He scattered just two hits and three walks while striking out five. James Davitt then came on for the final 2.2 innings in earning the loss, giving up four hits and the one run. Starter Trevor Lacosse lasted just 2.1 innings, allowing four earned on three hits and three walks.

Bryant executed a double steal in the second to plate its only other run. Robbie Rinn led off with a triple before Cooksey retired the next two batters. Daniel Palazzo would work a walk though, setting up the double steal opportunity.

The third was the only other inning in which Sacred Heart scored, as the Pioneers sent nine to the plate. Flint led it off with a walk before advancing to second on a wild pitch and scoring on a RBI single by Sullivan. That was the first of four straight Pioneers reaching, as Medina singled and Zack Short walked to load the bases. That is when DeFilippo delivered his two RBI single ending Lacosse's day. Weiner induced a groundball on the first hitter he faced, but it was mishandled leading to SHU's fourth run and a 4-1 lead.

Game One

Thirteen hits and four errors led to Bryant's 15 runs. The most damage was done in an eight run fourth. Already leading 5-0, The Bulldogs sent 13 to the plate in the frame, which Palazzo led off with a solo homer over the left field fence. After the first out was recorded in the next at bat, five straight Bulldogs reached, including a RBI single by Bingel for a 7-0 advantage. The most damaging play of the frame was a John Mullen single and Pioneer error, which allowed three runners to come around to stretch the lead to ten. After finally recording the second out on a RBI groundout that made the score 11-0, yet Sacred Heart error kept the inning alive, which resulted in two more RBI singles by Dan Cellucci and Mountford to cap the fourth inning scoring.

No Bulldog recorded more than two hits in the balanced offensive attack. Mountford, Bingle, and Fabio had two hits each, with Fabio leading the Bulldogs with three RBI's. Mountrford, Bingle, Albanese, Rinn, Palazzo, and Cellucci all scored twice. Not to be lost in the offensive outburst was starter James Karinchak, who limited SHU to just five hits in the shutout, striking out six while walking just one.

Short led the Pioneers at the plate, finishing 2-3, while James Taubl threw 3.1 innings of scoreless relief. 

Sacred Heart will look for the series split tomorrow in the final game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for noon at Harbor Yard.