BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (March 30, 2024) – It took a little bit of extra work on Saturday afternoon, but the Sacred Heart University baseball team locked down its fourth straight Northeast Conference series win. After surrendering a late lead, the Pios walked things off in the second game of a doubleheader against Long Island University at Veterans Memorial Park. Michael Simonelli (Milford, Conn.) was hit by a pitch to force home the winning run in the bottom of the 10^th inning, as SHU pulled out a 5-4 victory to force a split of the day's twinbill. Earlier in the afternoon, LIU used a five-spot in the top of the first to key a 6-4 victory in the first game.
 
Winners of each of its first four league series, Sacred Heart (13-12, 10-2 NEC) is now all alone in first place, with the NEC schedule marching past its one-third point this weekend. The Pios are now one game clear of second-place Wagner, after the Seahawks dropped two of three at home to Merrimack. LIU (8-16, 7-5 NEC) sits in fourth. The top six teams will qualify for the NEC Championship at the end of the season.
 
SHU will make a midweek trip to Stony Brook on Tuesday, weather permitting, and will return home to host Coppin State in an NEC series next weekend, April 5-7.
 
Game 1: LIU 6, Sacred Heart 4
 
After being held mostly dormant on Friday, the LIU bats came out firing on Saturday, as the Sharks sent nine men to the plate and scored five times in the top of the first inning against right-hander Joe Trombley (Watervliet, N.Y.). Seth Surrett walked leading off and Benjamin Fierenzi doubled down the line in left to set the table for JC Navarro. Navarro lost his second baseball in as many days, as he crushed his eighth home run of the season to left field, a three-run shot to open the scoring. Noah Sorensen would add a two-run homer to left later in the frame to make it 5-0.
 
The game largely quieted from there. SHU got one back in the second on an RBI single by Dennis Gamester (West Haven, Conn.) and LIU added an insurance run in the fifth, on an RBI single by Matthew McGurk, to make it a 6-1 game.
 
The Pioneers made things interesting late, as they plated two in the seventh and one more in the eighth to cut the lead to 6-4. In the seventh, Tim McGuire (Portsmouth, R.I.) drove a one-out triple into the power alley in right-center and scored on an RBI single through the left side of the infield by Gavin Donohue (Melrose, Mass.). Donohue would later score on a wild pitch. In the eighth, twin brother Ronan Donohue (Melrose, Mass.) socked a one-out, solo home run to left-center, his third long ball of the season.
 
SHU would not get another baserunner after the Ronan Donohue home run though, and could never get the tying run to the plate. LIU left-hander Jack VanDoran retired each of the other six batters he faced over the final two innings, including two strikeouts, to collect his fourth save of the season, in relief of right-hander Dominic Pieto (4-1). Pieto threw 101 pitches (68 strikes) across the first seven innings, allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits, walked one and chalked up nine strikeouts.
 
Trombley (1-1) managed to get through four innings on 77 pitches (48 strikes), despite the ugly first. He was charged with the five first-inning runs, allowed four hits, walked two and struck out three. Right-hander Michael Boyian (Norwalk, Conn.) recorded five strikeouts across three innings of one-run ball out of the bullpen.
 
Game 2: Sacred Heart 5, LIU 4 (10 innings)
 
In the second game, right-hander Elijah Foster (Plainfield, N.J.) was the definition of "effectively wild". Across four laborious innings, he created a lot of trouble for himself by walking six, hitting two batters and uncorking two wild pitches, but also escaped with only three runs and three hits against his name, and recorded three strikeouts as well.
 
LIU loaded the bases with nobody out in the first but came up empty, as Foster got a comebacker from Jake Mastillo to kickstart a 1-2-3 double play and then got Jack Power to fly out to right field. The Sharks loaded the bases with two outs in the second, but left them all out there again when Fierenzi flew out to center.
 
Foster's luck would run out in the third, as LIU successfully executed a first-and-third double steal with two outs. SHU briefly claimed the lead with two of its own in the bottom of the third. Gavin Donohue yanked a two-out, solo home run down the left-field line, his first collegiate dinger. Peter Link (Holmes, N.Y.) followed with a single through the right side, then got a great jump with two outs to score all the way from first on a single back up the middle by Zack Kovalchik (Archbald, Pa.).
 
It was right back into the fire for Foster in the fourth, as a walk, a hit batter and a bunt single loaded the bases with nobody out, without the ball leaving the infield. Fortunately, he rolled up another double play to limit the damage, though a run scored on the play, and another would come home on an ensuing wild pitch.
 
LIU was left to rue its missed opportunities as Sacred Heart struck for the lead in the last of the fifth. A walk, a single and a stolen base put two in scoring position with two away for McGuire, who roped a two-run single over the head of a leaping Power at second base and into right-center field.
 
After three scoreless innings of relief from left-hander Owen MacDonnell (Londonderry, N.H.), right-handed sidewinder Charlie Costello (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) took over for the eighth, with SHU still clinging to the 4-3 lead. The typically-reliable Costello worked around a one-out single without much trouble in the eighth, but was unable to navigate the ninth, following a throwing error from McGuire which put the leadoff man in scoring position. A bunt single by Fierenzi put runners at the corners with nobody out, and then Navarro dumped the first pitch he saw into right field to tie the game. Costello would prevent LIU from jumping out front though, as he got an infield fly and a comebacker before fanning Sorensen to end the threat.
 
SHU went in order in the last of the ninth against left-hander Kevin Small, as did LIU against Costello (2-0) in the top of the 10^th. The Pioneers got to Small (0-1) in the bottom of the 10^th to keep their run of series victories going. Link opened things with a single to left center and then Kovalchik dropped down a sacrifice bunt. After an intentional walk and a flyout made it runners at first and second with two away, Small lost his command. He hit Alex Ungar (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) to load the bases, and then plunked the right elbow of Simonelli as well, to force home the winning run.
 
A brief argument occurred, as LIU contended Simonelli had moved his elbow into the path of the pitch, but the umpires huddled and confirmed the original call, as SHU came away with the 5-4 victory.