FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University baseball defeated Atlantic 10 opponent, Fordham, in a midweek matchup on Tuesday afternoon 5-4. The Pioneers improve their record to 20-23.
Records
SHU: 20-23
Fordham: 21-25
Pitching
Mitch Hawkins (W, 3-1): 6.0 IP, 2 R (2 ER), 4 H, 2 BB, 1 SO
Jonathan Peterson: 0.1 IP, 1 SO
Lou Stallone: 1.1 IP, 3 BB, 3 SO
Charlie Costello (S, 1): 2 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 BB
Hitting
Gavin Donohue: 2 H, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR
JW Fitzgerald: 2 H
Tim McGuire: 2 H, 1 RBI
Dante D'Amore: 1 H, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR
How it Happened
The Rams came out swinging, jumping to an early 2–0 lead in the first thanks to a two-RBI single from Andrew Kanellis.
In the bottom of the second, SHU sparked their comeback. With a runner on,
Nathan Bowes smoked a double to right center. A close play at the plate kept a run off the board, but
Ronan Donohue came through, ripping an RBI single up the middle to bring Bowes home and put SHU on the board.
The Pioneers evened the score in the third when
JW Fitzgerald delivered a veteran at-bat, drawing a two-out, bases-loaded walk to tie the game at 2–2.
After a scoreless fourth, SHU kept the pressure on in the fifth. Bowes showed patience at the plate and earned a bases-loaded walk to give the Pioneers their first lead of the day at 3–2.
Then came the sixth when
Gavin Donohue launched a towering solo homer to right center, adding to the Pio's momentum. Just two batters later,
Dante D'Amore added another jolt, crushing a solo shot of his own on a full-count pitch to stretch the lead to 5–2.
Fordham saw potential to do damage in the seventh.
Lou Stallone stepped in for the Pioneers on the mound with one out and bases loaded striking out back-to-back Rams swinging stranding three runners to get the Pios out of the jam.
The Rams' two-run rally in the ninth fell short as the Pioneers secured the 5-4 win.
Mitch Hawkins turned in a strong start for the Pios, tossing six innings, allowing just one earned run on four hits while striking out one.
Up Next
The Pioneers are set to host Iona for a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) series beginning Friday at 3 p.m.