Game 1 - Bryant 8, Southern N.H. 5
Game 2 - Bryant 3, Southern N.H. 0
SMITHFIELD, RI - David Rappoli (left) pitched a complete-game two-hitter as the Bryant baseball team scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh of game two to complete a doubleheader sweep over Southern New Hampshire, 3-0 here Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs won the first game 8-5 but ran against a solid pitching performance from SNHU's Rob Hennessey in the second. Hennessy, a sophomore from Westford, Mass., took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before the Bulldogs managed to score three off the rightie to pull out the win. Hennessy allowed just four base runners on three walks before Bryant's Chris Brown lined a double just inside the third base line to break up the no-hitter.
Brown's double awoke the Bulldog bats as Jason Alexander followed Brown with a single and Mickey Ryan tripled into the leftfield corner to score both Brown and Alexander. Ryan would score two batters later on an Adam Rourke double to left, making it 3-0.
The four hits would be all Hennessy would allow as he struck out six in seven innings of work. His counterpart, Bryant's David Rappoli turned in one of his best performances of the year. The junior from Wilmington, Mass. allowed just two Southern N.H. hits in the first two innings but closed out the game, retiring 23 straight batters to pick up his second win of the season. Rappoli didn't allow a single walk and struck out six on the afternoon.
In the first game, Rourke went 4-for-4 with two doubles and a pair of singles for the Bulldogs and scored the game's first run after scoring on Paul Novakowski's single to right in the first. The Bulldogs led 3-0 after two innings.
The Penmen would add a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to cut the lead down to 4-3. Ray Powers led off the inning with a single to center and scored on a double to left by Adam Trussell. But the Bulldogs would get a run back in the sixth to make it 5-3 and score three more in the seventh to regain a comfortable lead.
The Bulldogs will travel to Southern N.H. for a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Manchester, N.H.
