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Box Score 2 BRIDGEPORT, Conn.— A bases loaded walk off walk by sophomore Hal Shaw in the 17th inning of game two gave the Sacred Heart Baseball team the 5-4 win and doubleheader sweep against Bryant on Thursday. The Pioneers (18-30, 11-10 NEC) took game one of the twin bill 12-3 over the Bulldogs (26-23, 18-6 NEC), giving Head Coach Nick Giaquinto one last sweep at the Ballpark Harbor Yard.
Game One
After an eight-game stretch on the road, the Pioneers struck early in the opening game. Senior Ted Shaw led off the bottom of the first with a leadoff walk and then later scored on redshirt junior PJ DeFilippo's RBI single to left field to take the 1-0 lead. SHU continued to get to Bulldogs starter James Karnichak in the bottom of the second as he yielded three straight walks with one out to load the bases. Shaw then worked the full count RBI walk to bring in the first run of the inning. With his second walk Shaw became SHU baseball's all-time walks leader with number 100 of his career. A wild pitch then scored junior Cody Doyle from third. Senior Keith Klebart plated the two RBI single to center field to give SHU the 4-0 lead, ending Karnichak's afternoon.
Sophomore Brent Teller dominated the first five innings only allowing one hit to the Bulldogs. But top-ranked Bryant didn't back down as they added three runs in the top of the sixth on a RBI single by Nick Angelini, a RBI single from Chris Wright and a sacrifice fly by Tyler Panno to bring the score to 4-3. The Pioneers didn't sweat as they added three more runs on a two RBI single by junior Alex Perry and sacrifice fly by Doyle to take the 7-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth.
The Pioneers put the game away in the bottom of the eighth with a four-run inning. Freshman Stephen Thibault plated two runs with his double to right center field with the bases loaded. Shaw drove in his second run of the game with his single to right field. Junior Anthony Capozziello recorded the sacrifice fly to put the score at 12-3. Sophomore Jackson Aldam finished out his two and two third innings shutout innings of relief as he escaped the ninth with two runners on.
Teller earned his third win of the season as he pitched six and a third innings in game one. Shaw and DeFilippo led the offense with two hits each. Shaw, freshman Austin Markmann, Doyle and Thibault all had two runs scored.
Game Two
The Bulldogs jumped out of the gate early in the second game as Cole Fabio opened the first with a leadoff double. He later scored on a RBI single by Mickey Gasper to give Bryant the 1-0 lead. Gasper would answer again in the third with a sacrifice fly to score Angelini.
The Pioneers got hot in the bottom of the third as freshman Elijah Brown opened the inning with a leadoff triple. He then scored on senior Jake Friar's sacrifice fly that was dropped by Panno to put the Pioneers on the board. Klebart tied the game up at 2-2 with his RBI single up the middle. DeFilippo then gave SHU the 3-2 lead with his RBI single to short.
Both teams traded runs in the seventh inning before the Bulldogs tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the eighth on Jimmy Titus' double to right field. As the game went in to extra innings, Bryant threatened with the bases loaded in the top of the 12th inning but Markmann was able to get Titus to line out to escape the inning. The Pioneers had a runner on third in the bottom of the 15th but Palmieri was able to get Doyle to foul out down the first base line. SHU got things cooking in the bottom of the 17th as Klebart opened the inning with a single to right field. DeFilippo then worked a walk and Markmann laid down the bunt single to load the bases. After an infield fly by Perry, H. Shaw stepped up to the plate working the full count before Palmieri missed high allowing the walk off walk to give SHU the 5-4 win.
Markmann led the Pioneers with a career-high five hits, while Ted Shaw, DeFilippo and Klebart all had two hits in the second game. Sophomore Baylor Sundahl pitched six and two third innings and struck out six in the no decision. Redshirt sophomore Nick Rubino fired three hitless innings in extras, striking out four batters. Markmann and junior James Taubl pitched four scoreless frames, allowing two combined hits. H. Shaw picked up the win pitching two shutout innings in the 16th and 17th innings.
The 17-inning contest was the Pioneers longest game since February 28, 2015 when they fell to Northwestern St. 2-1 in a 16-inning game.
The Pioneers and Bulldogs conclude the series tomorrow with a doubleheader at CCSU Baseball Field, beginning at 12:00 pm. The Pioneers five seniors in the class of 2017 will be recognized prior to the first game.
