WEST HARFORD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart baseball team broke a 4-4 tie with two runs in the seventh and Baylor Sundahl and James Cooksey combined to throw 3.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen as the Pioneers defeated in-state foe Harford 7-4 on Tuesday afternoon at Fiondella Field. With a fifth victory in a row to improve to 27-19, SHU moves eight games over .500 for the first time this season.

The go ahead and eventual game-winning runs for Sacred Heart came without the benefit of a hit. Dan Schock led off with a walk, and thanks to consecutive errors on sacrifice bunt attempts by Keith Klebart and Cody Doyle, the Pioneers all of the sudden had the bases loaded with none away. SHU would then execute back-to-back situational hitting opportunities, with Alex Perry first plating the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly before Ted Shaw performed a successful squeeze.

It was two more Hartford (30-14) errors leading to the final run of the afternoon in the eighth, as the first allowed leadoff man Jayson Sullivan to reach. Following an out, Zack Short recorded his second hit of the day, a single to left field, to give Sacred Heart runners on first and third.  During the next at bat, Short drew a pickoff attempt to first, which resulted in an errant throw that permitted Sullivan to go home.

Short had two of SHU's three hits on the day, also launching a two-run home run with two outs in a three-run first inning. Jayson Sullivan had the other and added a run and RBI. Shaw also had a run and RBI, and with two walks, was the only other Pioneer aside form Short to reach base twice.

The three hits held up in large part thanks to the bullpen's performance. Sundahl came on for starter Jason Foley with one out in the sixth, and after surrendering back-to-back singles, the first of which tied the game at 4-4, he retired seven of the final eight batters he faced. After the second single loaded the bases, he ended the inning with a double play ball, and following Sacred Heart taking the lead in seventh, his lone blemish was just a one out single in the eight. 

Cooksey then came on to secure the win with his team-leading third save of the year. He worked around a one-out double to give Sundahl his second career collegiate victory. Foley ended with a final line of four earned on seven hits in 5.1 innings. He struck out two and walked two.

As mentioned, SHU jumped out on top with the three runs in the first. Shaw and Jesus Medina both got on via a walk, and after a balk moved the two up to second and third, Sullivan put the Pioneers on the board with a sacrifice fly. Short then followed the second out of the frame by blasting his fifth homer of the year, one shy of Dan Schock's team-lead, over the left field fence.

Hartford wasted little time cutting into the lead with Erik Ostberg's two-out infield single, and following a scoreless second, both teams added one run in the third.

Again it was Shaw leading off with a walk, and although he was out on a ground ball in the next at bat, Medina was able to beat out the potential double play. This is when Sullivan had his base knock, a single through the left side, and the two would move up on a wild pitch during the next at bat. This proved important, as Medina was then able to score on Victor Sorrento's ground out. In the bottom half, Chris DelDebbio followed successive singles with a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit back to two, 4-2.

With just one runner reaching base in the next five half innings, Hartford finally came back to tie it in the sixth when Foley began the frame by walking the leadoff hitter and then hitting the next. Although Chris Sullivan then singled to load the bases, Foley got a potential double play ball but TJ Ward beat it out and that would be the end of the day for Foley. It was Ashton Bardzell welcoming Sundahl to the game with the RBI single and Joe Roberti loading the bases yet again with a single of his own, before Sundahl gave the Sacred Heart a chance to take the lead in the seventh with the inning ending double play.

Having just clinched its eight straight NEC Tournament appearance, the second place Pioneers return to league play this Thursday for a 3 p.m. first pitch at Wagner.