BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (April 13, 2024) – In a game which was stuck at 3-3 from the bottom of the third, the Sacred Heart University baseball team put the go-ahead run in scoring position in the fourth, sixth and eighth innings on Saturday afternoon, each time with zero or one out on the board. The Pioneers put the leadoff man on base as the winning run in the bottom of both the ninth and 10^th frames at a dreary Veterans Memorial Park. The home team would convert on none of the five opportunities.
 
Instead, Nick Nevins eventually worked a bases-loaded walk in the top of the 11^th to lift visiting Le Moyne to a 4-3 (11 inn.) victory in the middle game of the Northeast Conference weekend series. The rubber game between the two teams is set for noon at the Vet on Sunday.
 
Right-hander Joe Trombley (Watervliet, N.Y.) had allowed runs outside in the first inning in any of his previous three starts, and Saturday was no different, as Le Moyne (13-16, 9-7 NEC) struck for three in the top of the first. Nick Nevins had an RBI single to right, while Wyatt Patchett hammered a two-out triple the other way into the gap in right-center.
 
However, also as he had each of the last three weeks, Trombley settled in from there. He would go on to work five innings on 87 pitches (55 strikes) with no further blemishes. He was charged with just the three first-inning runs on five hits, walked three and struck out five.
 
Meanwhile, the SHU (17-14, 13-4 NEC) offense got the three runs back in a hurry, with two of its own in the home half of the first and another in the third. In the first, Alex Ungar (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) laced an RBI triple the other way into the right-center field gap and Dante D'Amore (Southington, Conn.) later provided an RBI single to left-center. Ungar was the catalyst in the third as well, as he singled up the middle, stole both second and third, and scored on an RBI groundout by D'Amore.
 
From there, the game settled in and went without further scoring for the next seven innings. Left-hander Max Parker would log seven solid innings on 109 pitches (71 strikes) out of the Le Moyne dugout. He allowed three runs on six hits, walked two and struck out four. Right-hander Jake McDowell (Brookfield, Conn.) took over for Trombley to start the sixth and kept matching Parker, with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief.
 
After the second inning, Le Moyne did not record another hit until the eighth, which meant Sacred Heart had the better of the opportunities to take the lead. SHU put a runner at second base with one out in both the fourth and sixth innings, but could advance him no further.
 
Left-hander Owen MacDonnell (Londonderry, N.H.) came on with two outs and two on in the top of the eighth and locked up Zach Brush on a gorgeous breaking ball to record a strikeout, strand a pair and get the Pios back on offense.
 
SHU immediately found its best chance to claim the lead, after Parker finally exited in favor of right-hander Billy Hoffacker. Zack Kovalchik (Archbald, Pa.) led off the last of the eighth, poked a pitch inside the bag at first and motored into second base with a double. A groundout by D'Amore put the go-ahead run at third with just one out and forced Le Moyne to pull the infield in. However, Ronan Donohue (Melrose, Mass.) chopped a ball to third base which saw Kovalchik – who was running on contact – cut down at the plate to short-circuit the rally.
 
MacDonnell got the Dolphins in order in the top of the ninth and SHU's leadoff man was hit by a pitch in the bottom half. Michael Simonelli (Milford, Conn.) then showed bunt and pulled it back as pinch runner Drew Martin (Brookfield, Conn.) took off, but Martin was caught stealing as catcher Benji Ries fired a strike to second base.
 
No worries, as MacDonnell took care of Le Moyne in order in the 10^th as well, before the Pios got another leadoff runner in the bottom half, via a walk. Ungar was called on to advance the runner, but bunted through two pitches and then struck out looking. SHU would eventually get the winning run to third with two outs, but Hoffacker fanned Donohue to end the threat.
 
MacDonnell (0-3) finally ran out of steam in the 11^th. Mike Whelehan singled to right to open the frame and then three straight one-out walks forced home the go-ahead run, with Nevins picking up the RBI.
 
SHU got a two-out infield single from Simonelli in the bottom half, but Hoffacker (4-3) got a first-pitch grounder to second from pinch hitter Tyler Galletti (Plainview, N.Y.) to close out the game.