LeClair finished the day with a career-high three hits and two RBI. (Photo Credit Crystal Ayn Hagberg).

BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (April 21, 2024) – The Stonehill College baseball team breezed to a decisive 13-4 victory over Northeast Conference opponent Long Island University Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Skyhawks improve to 11-21 overall and 7-11 in conference play, while the Sharks drop to 17-18 overall and 15-6 against conference foes.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Senior Trey Ciulla-Hall finished the day a triple shy of the cycle while driving home five runs for the Skyhawks.
• Graduate student Conor Kiely, junior Dylan Zemotel, and freshman Ryan LeClair each registered three hits for Stonehill.
• Junior Taylor Gaspar launched his team-best eighth homerun, while redshirt junior Jack Thorbahn tallied his sixth of the season. 
• Freshman Zach Brockner (1-0) made his first career start on the mound and struck out four batters over 3.0 innings on the hill.
• Senior JC Navarro belted his ninth homerun of the season for LIU, while freshman Noah Sorenson also drove home a pair of runs for the Sharks.
• Junior Jared Hughes (1-5) took the loss on the mound for LIU after allowing five earned runs over 5.0 innings while striking out a pair.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Stonehill started the scoring early, plating four runs in the opening frame. Redshirt sophomore Sam Parks led off the game with a single into center field before Kiely laced an RBI double into right, scoring Parks and giving the Skyhawks a 1-0 lead. Ciulla-Hall followed Kiely's run-scoring extra-base hit with a two-run round-tripper, marking his sixth of the season and extending the Stonehill advantage to three. LeClair capped off the scoring in the first after being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. 

However, in the bottom half of the first, LIU cut the deficit in half with one swing of the bat. A two-run single from Sorenson plated both Navarro and senior Carlton Harper, bringing the score to 4-2 in favor of the Skyhawks. 

After three scoreless innings on either side, Stonehill would regain its first-inning offensive momentum, scoring five runs in the fifth and extending its lead to 9-2. A three-run double off the bat of Ciulla-Hall, followed by a solo blast off the bat of Thorbahn, fueled the Skyhawks' five-run top half of the fifth inning. However, a two-run shot by Navarro in the bottom half for the Sharks would bring the score back within five heading into the latter third of the series finale. 

Gaspar extended his hitting streak to seven games, leading off the top of the sixth inning with a single into left field before being moved over into scoring position off an infield base knock by Zemotel. LeClair followed Zemotel, stepping into the batters' box and rifling an RBI double into left-center field, scoring Gaspar and improving the Skyhawks' advantage back up to six runs.

Stonehill rounded out its scoring in the eighth and ninth innings with a two-run single off the bat of Kiely in the eighth, before Gaspar blasted his team-leading eighth homerun of the season with two outs in the ninth. Following a leadoff walk to graduate student Seth Surrett in the bottom of the ninth, senior reliever Joe Castrichini would set down the next three in order, sealing the decisive, 13-4, victory for the Skyhawks. 

INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES

Brockner earned his first career win in his first career start. (Photo Credit Mary Gettens).

• Gaspar and Ciulla-Hall extended their on-base streaks to 15 and 18 games, respectively.
• Ciulla-Hall and Gaspar improved their hitting streaks to seven straight games, while Zemotel improved his hitting streak to five games straight.
• Castrichini earned his fourth save of the season after striking out four over the final 2.0 innings on the mound.
• Graduate student Billy Duff also appeared in relief for the Skyhawks.

UP NEXT

Stonehill (11-21, 7-11 NEC) returns to action on Tuesday for a midweek matchup against Yale. First pitch from New Haven, Connecticut between the Skyhawks and Bulldogs is set for 4 p.m.

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