BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (March 31, 2023) -- In a Friday doubleheader necessitated by incoming wet weather on Saturday, Ryan Donnelly (Fairfield, Conn.) went 4-for-7 with four RBIs, as the Sacred Heart University baseball team split a pair of Northeast Conference contests at Long Island University. After getting held to only four runs in their previous two games, the Pios put up five in a 6-5 loss in the first game at LIU Baseball Stadium, and added an explosive 16 runs on 16 hits in the following 16-6 rout.
With the split, SHU moves to 12-11 (8-3 NEC), while defending NEC champion LIU now stands at 6-19 (5-6 NEC). The rubber match of the three-game series is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday at LIU.
Game 1: LIU 6, Sacred Heart 5
A shaky start for SHU in the opening game of the doubleheader proved to be too great to recover from. LIU took charge out of the gate, putting up two runs in the first inning and three in the second inning on eight early hits against right-hander Jake Babuschak (Jobstown, N.Y.). After that it was a shutdown performance from Babuschak, who allowed only two more hits and no more runs over the next five innings.
The SHU bats, like the pitching, took a few innings to warm up. The Pioneers got on the board with a Sam Mongelli (Marlboro, N.Y.) home run to left field in the top of the third inning. Mongelli continued to chip away at the LIU lead with a second home run in the sixth inning, which cut the deficit to three runs. It was his team-leading fifth dinger of the season.
LIU was able to tack on one more run in the bottom of the eighth, which would prove pivotal with SHU down to its final three outs. Pinch-hitter Tyler Galletti (Plainview, N.Y.) hit a mammoth two-run homer to left to bring the Pios within one, but it ultimately was not enough to complete the comeback, as the Sharks held on for the 6-5 victory.
Babuschak (1-2) suffered the loss for Sacred Heart, after seven innings of work where he allowed five runs on 10 hits and struck out three without issuing a walk. On the other side, right-hander Alec Huertas (3-3) was credited with the win after he struck out seven, also without issuing a walk, over seven innings of work, where he held SHU to two runs on six hits.
Game 2: Sacred Heart 16, LIU 6
SHU picked up where it left off at the end of game one and jumped to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first, as Tim McGuire (Portsmouth, R.I.) and Robert Farruggio (Fairfield, Conn.) both drove in runs. LIU responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, to knot the game at 2-2.
McGuire put the Pios back in front with a single up the middle to score Mongelli in the top of the third. Sophomore Dante D'Amore (Southington, Conn.) tacked on another run in the fifth with an RBI single, but once again LIU responded right away, with three runs in the bottom half, to take a 5-4 lead.
The lead was short-lived though, as SHU reclaimed control in the sixth. Catcher Dennis Gamester (West Haven, Conn.) started the scoring with a solo home run to straightaway center to tie the game. Donnelly jumped in on the action with a two-run single to bring the score to 7-5 in favor of Sacred Heart. The onslaught continued in the top of the eighth when Donnelly and pinch-runner JW Fitzgerald (Westport, Conn.) both scored on wild pitches to make it 9-5.
The ninth inning saw SHU put up six more runs to break the game wide open. With the bases loaded, LIU pitcher James Steindl hit Farruggio to force home a run. Mark Smith (East Haven, Conn.), Zack Kovalchik (Archbald, Pa.), and Michael Simonelli (Milford, Conn.) all had RBIs to round out the scoring. LIU scratched together a run in the last of the ninth to create the 16-6 final.
Right-hander Charlie Costello (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) came on in relief and threw 3.1 innings without allowing a hit and struck out three to record the win (2-0). Ryan Cross (0-5) took the loss for the Sharks after surrendering four runs (three earned) on five hits over just two innings of work out of the bullpen.
