Box Score NORWICH, Conn. – The Sacred Heart pitching staff battled back from surrendering five runs in the first four innings to throw four scoreless, but a three-run first proved to be the difference as the Pioneers fell 5-1 to Bryant in a winners' bracket game of the 2016 Northeast Conference Tournament on Friday evening at Dodd Stadium.
SHU will now move on to play an elimination game tomorrow at noon against third seed Fairleigh Dickinson, whom the Pioneers defeated 9-8 on Jayson Sullivan's walk off home run yesterday. The winner of that contest moves on to the Championship round and will have to defeat Bryant twice to capture the title; first on Saturday following the conclusion of game one and then on Sunday in a winner-take-all if necessary game scheduled for noon.
After Sacred Heart (30-27) stranded runners on first and second in the first, Bryant (46-10) came right out and threaten itself. Cole Fabio led off with a walk and following a first out, Robby Rinn lined a ball to center field that turned into one of the most important plays of the game. Sullivan laid out to make a diving catch and got up to throw the ball to first for a double play as if he had caught the ball, but the umpire ruled that he had trapped it and the Bulldogs instead had runners on first and second with one out.
Buck McCarthy took advantage immediately, roping a single of his own to center that would eventually score two after a SHU error allowed Rinn to come all the way around from first. The Pioneers got a second out but AJ Zarozny came through with a two-out single to complete the three-run first.
Bryant added a run in the second and another in the fourth on an RBI single from McCarthy and a sacrifice fly from Rinn, but that would be all the Bulldogs would get as the Sacred Heart pitching staff would eventually settle in.
Starter James Taubl did well to work hitless fifth and sixth innings to end his six innings with eight hits allowed. Four of the five runs were earned as he walked five and struck out just one. Jackson Aldam would come on to throw a scoreless seventh before Mike Lembo did the same in the eighth.
Entering the frame with just two hits, Sacred Heart finally threatened in the eighth with three base knocks, beginning with Zack Short's one-out double just in front of a diving center fielder. Ted Shaw followed with a single up the middle and just like the Pioneers were on the board.
That ended Bryant starter Brandon Bingel's day in favor of Justin Snyder. Alex Perry greeted him with a single that went just underneath the third baseman's glove and he and Shaw would move up to second and third, respectively, when the ball went underneath the left fielder's glove as well. With the tying run on deck, Snyder dug in and got the second out on a fly ball before a strikeout ended the inning and kept the 5-1 lead in tact.
SHU also got two on in the ninth when Jake Friar and Jesus Medina laced back-to-to-back two out singles, but at that point it was to little to late as Snyder closed the door with a fly out.
The ninth inning singles were hits number six and seven for Sacred Heart, who was led by Perry's 2-4 day. Short's seventh inning double was the lone extra base hit of the evening.
Fabio led the Bryant offensive attack that had ten base knocks with a 2-4 effort that also saw him walk once and score three of the five runs. McCarthy was the only other Bulldog with two hits, both of which drove in runs.
Bingel was the star for the Bulldogs as he improved to 9-3. He surrendered only four hits in his 7.1 innings, giving up the lone run in the eighth. He struck out five and walked two. Snyder worked around the three hits to shutout SHU with three punch-outs in his 1.2 frames.
