EASTON, Mass. (March 23, 2025) – The Stonehill College baseball team made its 2025 Lou Gorman Field debut and clinched its second Northeast Conference (NEC) series win with a 7-5 victory over Maryland Eastern Shore Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Skyhawks improved to 6-13 overall and 5-1 in conference play, while the Hawks fell to 4-18 overall and 3-6 against conference opponents.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Senior Taylor Gaspar, sophomore Grayson Sparr, and freshman Brayden Rader led the way for the Skyhawks at the dish, each posting two-hit games, respectively.
• Gaspar drove home three of the Skyhawks' seven runs on the day while going 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and a walk.
• Senior Sam Parks improved his current team-leading hitting streak to six straight games after going 1-for-5 on the day with a double and a run scored.
• Junior Jimmy Gilleran had a strong outing on the mound, picking up his second win on the season after allowing just one earned run over 7.0 innings of work with four strikeouts.
• Senior Max Brulport earned his first career save after entering the game in the eighth inning and slamming the door shut, tallying two strikeouts over 1.1 innings of relief.
• Sophomore Bronson Taylor drove home two of the Hawks' five runs on the afternoon, going 2-for-5 at the dish with a run scored.
• Redshirt junior Julian Jimenez registered his first triple of the season while going 2-for-4 on the afternoon with two runs scored and a free pass.
• Sophomore Justin Spencer struck out a season-high eight batters over 5.0 innings of work for UMES.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After five scoreless innings of play, marked by a strong pitching duel between Gilleran and Spencer, who allowed just eight combined hits, the Hawks finally broke the deadlock in the top of the sixth. UMES started the inning with Jimenez, who led off with a triple that sailed over Gaspar's head in right field and off the fence. One batter later, Taylor hit a slow ground ball to first, allowing Jimenez to race home and score the game's first run.
 
Stonehill quickly responded in the bottom of the sixth, scoring four runs to take its first lead of the game, a lead it would hold for the remainder of the series finale. Junior Michael Rickert ignited the rally with a leadoff double off the right-field wall. Three consecutive walks to Sparr, graduate student Jack Thorbahn, and Gaspar then allowed the game-tying run to cross, leveling the score at 1-1.
 
The Skyhawks capitalized on the bases-loaded situation. Sophomore Aidan Sengenberger was hit by a pitch to drive in a run, followed by an infield groundout from Rader and a two-out RBI single from sophomore Ryan LeClair, which capped off the four-run outburst for Stonehill.
 
In the top of the seventh, UMES responded with a run, taking advantage of a fielding error by Stonehill to make it 4-2. However, the Skyhawks regained a comfortable five-run lead in the bottom half of the inning, tacking on three more runs. Parks started the inning with a double down the leftfield line and was later brought home by an RBI triple to right by Sparr. After a walk to Thorbahn, Gaspar delivered a two-run double into the right-center field gap, scoring both Sparr and Thorbahn, giving Stonehill a 7-2 lead as the two sides headed into the eighth.
 
Despite UMES rallying with three runs in the top of the eighth, Stonehill's Brulport entered with two outs in the frame and slammed the door shut over the final 1.1 innings. Brulport struck out two and stranded three Hawks on base, securing the save and the series victory for the Skyhawks with a 7-5 final score.
 
UP NEXT
Stonehill (6-13, 5-1 NEC) returns to action on Tuesday, traveling to Providence, Rhode Island for a midweek non-conference matchup against Brown University. First pitch from Attanasio Family Field at Murray Stadium between the Skyhawks and Bears is set for 3 PM.  
 
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