Sacred Heart
1-6
Alcorn St.
2-12
Offense Explodes for 20 Hits in First Win of 2016
3/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
LORMAN, Miss. – Trailing 1-0 early, the Sacred Heart baseball team stormed back by pounding out 20 hits en route to 16 runs, including 12 in the final three innings, to win its first game of the season 16-3 at Alcorn State on Tuesday evening.
The 20 hits are tied for SHU's most since recording 21 against Fairleigh Dickinson April 17, 2011. Seven of the nine Pioneer starters finished with multi-hit games, led by Jayson Sullivan, Victor Sorrento and Alex Perry with three each. The trio each had three RBI's, two runs scored and a double. Zack Short also had three RBI's in a 2-5 performance, while Ted Shaw roped two doubles. Also finishing with two hits were PJ DeFilippo and Dan Shock.
Not to be outshone by the offense, three Pioneer pitchers combined to give up just one earned run. Jesus Medina got the start, working his way around six hits to allow no earned runs in the first four innings. He was relieved by James Cooksey, who earned the win by pitching three innings of four-hit ball without giving up an earned run. Perry pitched the final two innings, allowing one run on two hits.
Sacred Heart did find itself down early when Alcorn State benefited on a Pioneer error to score the first run of the game in the second. It was all SHU from there, with the Pioneers immediately capturing the lead in its next at bat. A Medina single began a two-out rally, which was extend when Short singled as well. Sorrento then brought both of them in with a double down the left field line before coming around to score when he stole third and forced the catcher to make an error.
The score remained 3-1 until Schock's two-out RBI single in the top of the sixth, before SHU then exploded for seven runs in the seventh. The inning almost faltered early after Sullivan had led off with a single, as the following two Pioneers stuck out. The next seven to come to the plate all reached though, which included RBI base hits by Sorrento, Perry, Cody Doyle, Shaw, and finally Sullivan for his second hit of the frame.
Sacred Heart added one in the eight on a DeFilippo RBI groundout before SHU put an exclamation point on the night with four more runs in the ninth. Four straight Pioneers reached to lead off the inning with Shaw and Sullivan each driving in runs on back-to-back doubles. Short drove in his third run of the day on a ground out and Perry finished off the 16-run effort with one final single, the 20th hit of the night.
SHU will look to carry the momentum of Tuesday's performance into game one of a three-game series at Nicholls State on Thursday night at 7 pm.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cooksey, James (1-2)
L: D. Corona (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Sullivan, Jayson 1 ; Sorrento, Victor 1 ; Perry, Alex 1 ; Shaw, Ted 2
3B: Sorrento, Victor 1
RBI: Sullivan, Jayson 3 ; Short, Zack 1 ; Sorrento, Victor 3 ; DeFilippo, PJ 1 ; Perry, Alex 3 ; Doyle, Cody 1 ; Schock, Dan 1 ; Shaw, Ted 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Sullivan, Jayson 2 ; Medina, Jesus 1 ; Short, Zack 2 ; Sorrento, Victor 2 ; DeFilippo, PJ 1 ; Perry, Alex 2 ; Doyle, Cody 1 ; Schock, Dan 2 ; Shaw, Ted 2 ; Capozziello, Anthony 1
SB: Sullivan, Jayson 1 ; Sorrento, Victor 1 ; DeFilippo, PJ 1
HBP: Sullivan, Jayson 1
Batting:
RBI: R. Fletcher 1 ; C. Walker 1 ; D. Walden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: P. McMahon 3
SB: P. McMahon 1
CS: J. Barna 1 ; P. McMahon 1 ; D. Walden 1
