Senior Mitch Davis collected three hits and drove in the winning run with a single in the bottom of the tenth. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Stonehill Rallies Past Bentley, 10-9 (10 innings)

Davis plates winning run with 10^th-inning single as Skyhawks come back from 8-3 8^th-inning deficit

Boxscore

EASTON, Mass. (April 6, 2010) – Stonehill College fought back from an 8-3 deficit entering the bottom of the eighth inning to claim a 10-9 victory over rival Bentley University in ten innings in a Northeast-10 Conference baseball matchup at Lou Gorman Field this afternoon. All nine starters in both lineups collected hits on the afternoon as the teams combined for 35 hits with Bentley posting a slight 18-17 advantage in that category.

Senior Mitch Davis (Bow, N.H./Bow) continued to swing a hot bat for Stonehill as he finished 3-for-6 with two runs scored and an RBI, driving in the winning run in the tenth with a single up the middle that scored junior Brenden Shepard (Boxford, Mass./Masconomet), who led off the inning with a single, stole second and got to third on a sacrifice bunt by senior Rob Von Stein (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull). Shepard finished 2-for-6 with two stolen bases, while Von Stein was 3-for-5 with two run scored.

Senior Ryan Healey (Lynn, Mass./Lynn English) batted 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI for the Skyhawks. Junior Angelo Bruno (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) was 2-for-3, while sophomore Rich McHugh (Pembroke, Mass./Thayer Academy) finished 2-for-5 with an RBI and run scored.

Shepard also picked up the win (2-0) in relief for Stonehill, working around a hit with two strikeouts in an inning of work. Sophomore Bryan Galligan (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) got the start and yielded six earned runs on 11 hits with a strikeout and two walks over 6.1 innings.

Rob Von Stein

Sophomore Vinnie Eruzione (Winthrop, Mass./Winthrop) led Bentley at the plate by hitting 4-for-5 with two stolen bases and a run scored. Senior Brett Damato (Commack, N.Y./Commack) was 3-for-5 with an RBI and run scored, while junior Ross Curley (Lexington, Conn./Lexington) finished 2-for-6 with three runs scored and two RBI. Senior Charlie Pagliarulo (Medford, Mass./Medford) chipped in by going 2-for-5 with a double, run scored and two RBI.

Sophomore Matt Sherman (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow) suffered the loss (0-1) in relief for Bentley, surrendering the one earned run on two hits in a third of an inning. Sophomore Dan Murphy (Garden City, N.Y./Chaminade) started and allowed six runs, five earned, on 11 hits and six walks with eight strikeouts in seven-plus innings.

Stonehill trailed by five (8-3) entering the bottom of the eighth, when the Skyhawks got back in the game with four runs. The first three batters all singled to lead off the inning, before Healey delivered a two-run double to left with one out to get the ball rolling. Senior Shane Franz (Cazenovia, N.Y./Cazenovia) drove in a run on a ground out, before the Skyhawks closed within one (8-7) when freshman James DeAlto (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y./Briarcliff), who pinch-ran for Healey, scored while senior Matt Skane (Mashpee, Mass./Mashpee) reached on an error that should have ended the inning.

Senior Ryan Healey hit 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Bentley regained a two-run lead in the top of the ninth as Damato posted an RBI single to center with two out. Stonehill forced extra innings with two in the bottom of the ninth as McHugh had an RBI single with one out and Franz was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in the tying run.

Bentley opened the scoring with two in the third inning on a two-run double to left center by Pagliarulo with one out. The Falcons extended their lead to 3-0 on an RBI single through the left side by junior James Roche (Arlington, Mass./Arlington).

Stonehill got on the board with two in the home half of the fifth as McHugh led off with a single and later scored on a passed ball, while Healey singled and scored on a sacrifice fly from Franz. Bentley looked to break the game open with three in the seventh and two more in the eighth, while Stonehill scored a single run in the seventh. Curley had an RBI single for the Falcons in the seventh, while Hardy posted a two-run triple with two out. Sophomore Mark Lane (Tyngsboro, Mass./Tyngsboro) had an RBI double in the eighth, while Curley drove in a run with a ground out.

Stonehill (10-10, 6-3 NE-10) and Bentley (12-14, 7-4 NE-10) will meet up again right back here at Gorman Field tomorrow for a non-conference battle at 3 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for Friday, but has been moved up two days based on Friday's weather forecast for rain. The two teams will conclude their NE-10 series on Thursday in Waltham at 3:30 p.m.