March 28, 2009

BULLDOGS FINISH FOUR-GAME SWEEP OF BLACKBIRDS; TAKE TWO ON SATURDAY, 3-2 AND 7-2

March 28, 2009

BULLDOGS FINISH FOUR-GAME SWEEP OF BLACKBIRDS; TAKE TWO ON SATURDAY, 3-2 AND 7-2

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Junior catcher Jeff Vigurs (South Windsor, Conn.) hit a one out, two-run home run in the ninth inning in game one on Saturday, as the Bulldogs once again used late inning dramatics to get past Long Island, 3-2. Bryant came back in game two with a, 7-2, victory, finishing a four-game sweep of the Blackbirds and pushing their winning streak to a season-high six-straight.

Kevin Cobb (Acton, Mass.) improved his record to 5-0 on the mound, going eight innings while allowing two runs and striking out ten. The senior only made one mistake in the game, giving up a two run homer in the fourth Frank DiMasi, putting LIU up 2-0 at the time. Cobb got out of a bases loaded and nobody out jam in the fifth inning, striking out two straight batters and then getting DiMasi to ground into a fielder's choice to end the threat.

After falling behind, 2-0, in the bottom of the fourth, the Bulldogs would get one back in the fifth. Freshman Dan Mello (Peabody, Mass.) led off the inning with a double, and would later come around to score on an RBI groundout by Pat McKenna (Orange, Conn.) to cut the deficit to, 2-1.

That would be all Bryant would get off of Blackbird start Couri Benz until the ninth. Benz was solid, allowing just the three runs on six hits in 8.1 innings. He was pulled after the longball by Vigurs.

With McKenna's heroics on Friday still fresh on the minds of Bryant, the squad was ready for another comeback in their final at-bat. Pat O'Connor (Mattapoisett, Mass.) led the inning off with a single, setting Vigurs up for the two-run bomb that gave the Bulldogs the, 3-2, lead. The junior has now reached base safely in 23-straight contests.

With the one run lead, head coach Jamie Pinzino turned to his closer, Mark Andrews (Hillsborough, N.J.) to finish off the game. After putting runners on first and second with one out, the lefty got Derek Stupski to ground into a game-ending double-play to earn his sixth save of the year.

Vigurs kept it going in game two, hitting a two-run bases loaded double in the top of the first, extending his on-base streak to 24-straight and putting the Bulldogs on top, 2-0, after one. The Windsor, Conn. native finished the series going five-for-14 with five RBI.

McKenna added on another run with an RBI double in the top of the third, scoring Jon Beauregard (New Bedford, Mass.) from third to extend the Bulldog lead to, 3-0. Beauregard was two-for-four in game two with two runs scored.

Senior starter Dan Lozeau (Pelham, N.H.) was almost unhittable, throwing a two-hitter in his six innings of work, giving up one run and walking two. One of those two hits was a solo home run by Chris Kievit off in the bottom of the third that got LIU in the run column, cutting the deficit to, 3-1, at the time. That was all the Blackbirds could manage against Lozeau, who went on to win his third game of the year.

Dylan Stone (Portsmouth, R.I.) provided some insurance in the top of the fourth, slugging a two-out, three-run home run to push the Bulldog advantage to, 6-1. Tim Norton (Barnstable, Mass.) capped the scoring in the top of the fifth, driving in Jamie Skagerlind (Holden, Mass.) with a single that made the score, 7-1, in favor of the visitors.

O'Connor had another multi-hit game, his fifth of the season, as he went two-for-three in the game. The senior left fielder was an impressive eight-for-15 in the series, including the first five-hit game of the year for the Bulldogs in game two of the twin bill on Friday.

Brian O'Neil (North Reading, Mass.) finished the game by pitching the seventh, allowing one run on one hit to finish off win number 18 for the black and gold. The six-straight wins is a season-best win streak, beating their previous high of five at the beginning of March.

Bryant returns home on Thursday when they host Brown at the Bryant Baseball Complex at 3:30 p.m.

Game 1
Bryant University 3, Long Island 2 (03/28/09 at Brooklyn, N.Y.) (Game 1)
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Bryant University... 000 010 002 - 3 6 0 (17-7)
Long Island......... 000 200 000 - 2 9 1 (3-15)
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Pitchers: Bryant University - Kevin Cobb; Mark Andrews(9). Long Island - BENZ, C.;
SLOOTMAKER,J(9); LOPEZ, P.(9).
Win-Kevin Cobb(5-0) Save-Mark Andrews(6) Loss-BENZ, C.(0-5) T-2:14 A-111
HR BRY - Jeff Vigurs (6).
HR LIU - DIMASI, F. (3).

Game 2
Bryant University 7, Long Island 2 (03/29/09 at Brooklyn, N.Y.) (Game 2)
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Bryant University... 210 310 0 - 7 9 1 (18-7)
Long Island......... 010 000 1 - 2 3 1 (3-16)
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Pitchers: Bryant University - Dan Lozeau; Brian O'Neil(7). Long Island - CROUCH, B.;
SLOOTMAKER,J(4); LOPEZ, P.(5); YAWGER, A.(6).
Win-Dan Lozeau(3-0) Loss-CROUCH, B.(0-1) T-2:05 A-111
HR BRY - Dylan Stone (1).
HR LIU - KIEVIT, C. (7).