THIBODAUX, La. – The Sacred Heart baseball team ended its season-opening ten game road trip by salvaging a doubleheader split on Friday night at Nicholls State. Shutout 5-0 in game one, the Pioneer offense came alive for seven runs in seven innings in game two, and Alex Perry came on for 2.1 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win, as SHU finished the road trip 2-8.

Sacred Heart returns to Connecticut to host Fordham for its home opener at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard on Tuesday at 3:30 pm.

Game One

Nicholls State (7-9) starter Justin Sinibaldi limited the Pioneer offense to just five hits in seven scoreless innings, striking out nine, and the Colonels pushed across four in the fourth inning to take the opener 5-0. Sinibaldi allowed just three runners to advance into scoring position in the seven innings before Zach Thiac and Robbie Petty each came on for a scorless inning of relief to complete the shutout.

SHU starter John Sostarich gave up just one hit in the opening three innings before running into trouble in the fourth. Kyle Reese's leadoff single got it all started, and after a strikeout for the first out, Justin Holt continued it with a walk. Brandon Harigel then singled in Reese for the night's first run before a hit batter loaded the bases. Alex Tucker's drove in the second run on a sacrifice fly to bring up Gavin Wehby, who delivered the big base knock, a two-RBI double to right center for the 4-0 lead to end Sostarich's day.

Wehby was 2-3 with two RBI's, and also scored Nicholls' sixth inning run. Joey Morales was also 2-3, while Harigel went 1-4 with a RBI and run scored.

James Taubl came on for Sostarich after Wehby's double, allowing a hit to the first batter he faced before getting out of the inning. That was the beginning of 3.1 innings of one-run ball on four hits for Tabul, who surrendered the sixth inning run on a wild pitch. Jeff Stoddard pitched a scoreless eighth inning in his first appearance since suffering a season-ending injury last March. 

Jesus Medina and Ted Shaw each went 2-3 to lead the Pioneer offense. Medina was thrown out at home on PJ DeFilippo's single in the seventh inning.

Game Two

It did not take Sacred Heart long to make up for the shutout in game two, plating five runs in the second inning as five of the first six Pioneers to come to the plate all reached beginning with Victor Sorrento's single. Zack Short then doubled, and after a strikeout, Keith Klebart walked to load the bases. Back-to-back RBI singles by Jake Friar and Anthony Cappoziello brought in the first two runs before Klebart was thrown out at home on a fielder's choice for the second out. Medina and Jayson Sullivan each delivered two out RBI singles though, with Medina first driving in two before Sullivan capped the five-run frame.

Nicholls immediately came back with two in bottom half as Wehby was involved once again. He led off with a walk and moved up to second on Dylan Manichia's double. Consecutive groundouts by Kyle Knauth and Devin Morill drove both of them in to cut the deficit to 5-2.

SHU would answer with the eventual game-winner in third courtesy of Friar's two-out RBI double that scored DeFilippo, who had singled with one out. Friar was the lone Pioneer with two hits, also driving in two and scoring once. Sullivan also reached base twice, going 1-3 with a walk.

Sacred Heart added insurance in the form of an unearned run in the fifth, taking advantage of two Colonel errors when Klebart laid down a squeeze. That proved to be an important cushion when Nicholls State came back with three in fifth, also taking advantage of an error to score one unearned run. Alex Shermer and each had RBI singles, the latter of which ended starter James Cooksey's day. On came Perry, who did allow a hit to the first hitter he faced before putting an end to the threat with a fly out.

Perry gave up just one more hit in the final two innings for his first win of the season, working around a leadoff single in the sixth. That runner eventually reached third with one out, but the sophomore would shut the door with the beginning of five consecutive punch outs, as he also struck out the side in the seventh. Cooksey finished with a line of 4.2 innings pitched, three hits and three earned runs.