Sengenberger caught two Yale baserunners trying to steal a base throughout the contest. (Photo Credit Ryan Adams).

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (April 23, 2024) – The Stonehill College baseball team took down non-conference foe Yale in a midweek matchup, 7-1, Tuesday night. With the win, the Skyhawks improve to 12-21 overall, while the Bulldogs drop to 13-20 on the season. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• Graduate student Conor Kiely and freshman Aidan Sengenberger finished with a team-high two hits apiece.
• Redshirt sophomore Sam Parks and Kiely each scored a pair of runs, while senior Blaine Lidsky drove home two with a pair of sacrifice flies.
• Sophomore Jimmy Gilleran (2-3) tallied a season-high five strikeouts in seven innings of work during his first start of the season.
• Sophomore Davis Hanson drove home the lone run for the Bulldogs, while junior Max Imhoff and senior Alec Atkinson had two hits each on the day.
• Sophomore Ethan Lewis had a strong outing of relief for Yale, not allowing a hit and striking out one in 2.2 innings.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Skyhawks wasted little time getting the scoring started, plating a pair of runs in the opening frame. After Kiely got the inning kicked off with a bloop single into left centerfield, back-to-back walks drawn by senior Trey Ciulla-Hall and redshirt junior Jack Thorbahn would load the bases for Stonehill with one out in the inning. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Lidsky would score Kiely from third before junior Taylor Gaspar followed with an RBI single through the left side of the infield. 

In the second inning, a leadoff double off the bat of Sengenberger later came around to score after a no-out double play turned by the Yale infielders, giving the Skyhawks a three-run lead. However, in the bottom half of the third, the Bulldogs cut the deficit to two after Hanson lined an RBI single into left field, scoring Imhoff, who led off the frame with a base knock into right. 

Stonehill would immediately answer back in the top of the fourth and regain their three-run advantage. An errant throw by the Yale second baseman allowed senior Jack Marshall to race home from second and score the Skyhawks' fourth run of the contest. 

Following back-to-back scoreless innings on either side, the Skyhawks would regain their early offensive momentum, tacking two runs on the board in the seventh. Two straight singles by Parks and Kiely led off the frame before an infield groundout to third gave Parks a chance to show off his speed, flying home and scoring Stonehill's fifth run. 

After the run came across to score, Kiely advanced 90 feet away from home on a balk, before Thorbahn battled at the dish and drew a full-count walk. With two runners aboard and Kiely in scoring position, Lidsky stepped into the box and lifted his second sacrifice fly of the game out to right field, plating Kiely and increasing the Stonehill lead to 6-1. 

Sophomore Jack Iannibelli came on in relief of Gilleran to start the eighth and continued to keep the Bulldogs off the board. In the bottom of the eighth, Marshall ranged to his left at shortstop, fielding a line-drive ground ball, and fired a strike over to first to get the Skyhawks out of a bases-loaded jam.

Parks came around to score in the top half of the ninth inning to extend Stonehill's advantage to six runs and cap off the game's scoring. Sengenberger capped off his solid day behind the plate and sealed the 7-1 win for Stonehill by firing a strike down to second base and catching Imhoff attempting to swipe a base. 

INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES

• Gaspar and Ciulla-Hall extended their on-base streaks to 16 and 19 games, respectively.
• Gaspar improved his hitting streaks to eight straight games, while Parks is now riding a five-game hit streak.
• Parks, Kiely, Ciulla-Hall, and Marshall each registered a stolen base.
• Iannibelli did not allow a run in a two full innings of relief to end the game for the Skyhawks.
• Sengenberger cutdown two Bulldog baserunners attempting to steal a base on the day.

UP NEXT

Stonehill (12-21, 7-11 NEC) returns to action on Wednesday for a second midweek game against the University of Rhode Island. First pitch from Lou Gorman Field on campus between the Skyhawks and Rams is set for 3 p.m.

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