Junior Angelo Bruno belted his second home run of the season to put Stonehill two runs in the top of the first.

Stonehill Tops Southern N.H. in NE-10 Opener, 3-1

Bruno blast and strong pitching leads Skyhawks for Conference victory 

Boxscore

MANCHESTER, N.H. (March 17, 2010) – Stonehill College posted a 3-1 victory over Southern New Hampshire University in the Northeast-10 Conference baseball opener for both at Penman Field this afternoon.

Junior Angelo Bruno (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) led the offense for Stonehill, hitting 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI, while classmate Alex McCormick (Weymouth, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) threw seven strong innings to earn the win (1-1) on the mound. McCormick allowed just an earned run while scattering seven hits with five strikeouts and no walks. Junior Brenden Shepard (Boxford, Mass./Masconomet) picked up his first save of the season with a perfect ninth, striking out two of the three batters he faced.

Sophomore Rich McHugh (Pembroke, Mass./Thayer Academy) was also 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Skyhawks. Senior Shane Franz (Canzenovia, N.Y./Cazenovia) hit 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Junior Tim Rines (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) was the lone Southern New Hampshire batter with multiple hits, finishing 3-for-4. Classmate Robert Wronski (Arlington, Mass./Arlington Catholic) was 1-for-3 with a double and RBI, while senior Eric Pelletier (Beverly, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) hit 1-for-4 with a run scored.

Junior Alex McCormick tossed seven strong innings to pick up the win on the mound.

Sophomore Brad Monroe (Hampton Falls, N.H./Winnacunnet) took the loss (0-1), allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits with eight strikeouts and a walk over six innings.

Bruno provided all the offense Stonehill would need in the top of the first, when he followed up a one-out single by junior Scott Hackett (Bangor, Maine/Bangor) with his second home run of the season to centerfield for a quick 2-0 lead.

Southern New Hampshire got one of those runs back in the home half when Pelletier and Rines collected back-to-back one out singles, followed by an RBI double by Wronski. Rines also tried to score on the play, but was thrown out at the plate by Franz and Bruno. McCormick settled in from there and yielded just four hits over his final 6.1 innings.

Stonehill added an insurance run in the sixth when Franz was hit by a pitch and later scored on a single to left by McHugh. McCormick and relievers Joe SantaBarbara (Danvers, Mass./Masconomet) and Shepherd did the rest by scattering just two hits over SNHU's final four at bats.

Stonehill (3-5, 1-0 NE-10) is back in action on Saturday when it visits Pace University for a Northeast-10 doubleheader beginning at noon. The Skyhawks home opener is now slated for next Tuesday, March 23, against Assumption College at 3:30 p.m. Southern New Hampshire (3-4, 0-1 NE-10) heads to south Florida this weekend for its spring break trip, opening up against Saint Michael's College on Friday at 12:30 p.m.