MARION, Mass. (March 24, 2024) – A six-run third inning was all that was in it for the Sacred Heart University baseball team on Sunday afternoon, but a six-run third inning was enough. The Pioneers made another quick start hold up at Tabor Academy, as they posted a 6-4 victory in their weekend finale against Stonehill to finish of their second straight Northeast Conference weekend sweep.
 
SHU (10-11, 8-1 NEC) is now tied for first place with Wagner (10-14, 8-1 NEC), nine games into a 33-game league schedule which passes the one-third mark next weekend. The Pios and Seahawks are two games clear of the rest of the pack. The two teams will not meet until the first weekend of May, at Wagner.
 
Sacred Heart packed all its offense into the top of the third inning on Sunday and snagged a half-dozen in the frame. Alex Ungar (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) led off with a single, stole second and scored on an RBI single back up the middle by Charlie Tallman (Fair Haven, N.J.). After a walk and a single loaded the bases with one out, Zack Kovalchik (Archbald, Pa.) brought home the inning's second run with an infield single.
 
The Pios would score the inning's remaining four runs via three consecutive two-out hits. Peter Link (Holmes, N.Y.) cashed in a pair with a single to right. Joey Skarad (Stamford, Conn.) pulled an RBI single through the left side. Ungar came back up and capped the rally he had started by singling back up the middle to drive home the sixth run. The Pios sent 11 men to the plate in the inning and had seven hits.
 
Stonehill (4-12, 0-6 NEC) got two back right away, in the bottom of the third. With two outs, Sam Parks worked a walk and then Trey Ciulla-Hall drove his second home run of the season to left field.
 
The game would stay stuck on 6-2 until the last of the ninth, when the Skyhawks attempted a late rally which saw the tying run come to the plate with no outs. Ciulla-Hall reached on an error leading off and scored immediately, as Jack Thorbahn followed with his second home run of the weekend, and fourth of the season.
 
Blaine Lidsky was next and reached on an infield single. With still nobody out, Stonehill now had the tying run at the plate, but had its 6-7-8 hitters coming up. Right-hander Charlie Costello (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.), who had come on to start the inning, was able to bear down from there. He got Jack Marshall and Taylar Gaspar to pop up on the infield, and then struck out Evan Dieter to end the ballgame. The bottom four batters in the Stonehill lineup finished the day a combined 0-for-14 with eight strikeouts.
 
Right-hander Elijah Foster (Plainfield, N.J.) made the Sunday start for SHU and threw five innings of two-run ball on 81 pitches (49 strikes). He allowed three hits, walked one, hit a batter and struck out a season-best eight to pick up the win (1-1). Left-hander Owen MacDonnell (Londonderry, N.H.) provided three scoreless, hitless innings of relief with three strikeouts.
 
Right-hander Peter Haas (1-5) took the ball and the loss for Stonehill, as he was responsible for the busy third inning. Over three innings and 61 pitches (40 strikes), he was charged with six runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out five.
 
Sacred Heart has four home games on tap this week. The Pioneers will host Marist on Tuesday and then welcome LIU to Veterans Park for an NEC weekend series March 28-30.