Healy's 10 Ks pace Bryant sweep

BULLDOGS RALLY PAST MOUNTAINEERS IN GAME ONE, 7-3

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Sophomore John Mullen's (Walpole, Mass.) two-run double snapped a 3-3 tie in the fourth inning and pushed the Bryant University baseball team past Mount St. Mary's, 7-3, in game one, and graduate student John Healy (Cranston, R.I.) struck out 10 batters over six innings in a 5-2 game two victory.

The Bulldogs (8-9-1, 3-0 NEC) have now won the first three games of the series and each of the last 13 against the Mountaineers (4-13, 0-3).

GAME ONE

Moments after the Mount grabbed its first lead of the series, the Bulldogs grabbed it right back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Senior Adam Claire (Litchfield, Conn.) walked to start the inning and freshman Robby Rinn (Warwick, R.I.) followed with a single to left field. Junior Jonathan Scott (Princeton, N.J.) advanced both with a sac bunt. The Mountaineers were able to retire Claire at home on an infield round ball for the second out but sophomore Carl Anderson (Sudbury, Mass.) produced a two-out single through the right side, tying the game at 3-3. Mullen then benefited from the windy conditions as his pop fly to right fell in for a two-run double to give the Black and Gold a 5-3 lead.

Bryant jumped out to an early lead with two second-inning runs for the second-straight game. Senior Dan Muscatello (Hopkinton, Mass.) walked with one out and Claire followed with a single to left-center that moved Muscatello to third and put runners on second and third. Rinn then grounded out to short to score Muscatello with the first run and Claire scored the second on an infield error.

The Mountaineers offense came to life with three runs over the course of the third and fourth innings. In the third, Nick Walker drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a sac bunt and scored on Zane Bard's two-out single through the right side. The Mount followed with two runs in the fourth to take the lead. Tom Healy tied things with a solo home run to right-center with one out in the fourth. The Mount then loaded the bases with one out on a dropped third strike, a walk and an error. Brandon Scott was able to give the Mountaineers a 3-2 lead with a sac bunt before Bryant starter Kevin McAvoy (Syracuse, N.Y.) closed the inning with a strikeout.

The Bulldogs tacked on two more runs in the fifth inning to cap the scoring. Muscatello collected a one-out single to start the rally and scored the sixth run of the game on a ground ball to short that resulted in two errors. Scott finished the scoring with a two-out single to center to score Rinn.

Making his league start of the season, McAvoy picked up his first win of the year with five solid innings. He allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and struck out a career-high seven batters. Sophomore Trevor Lacosse (Watervliet, N.Y.) tossed two scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit. Offensviely, Mullen drove in two runs, giving him nine in his last four games. Anderson and Muscatello each had two hits, and Muscatello and Rinn both scored two runs for the Black and Gold.

GAME TWO

Making his home debut, Healy was dominant over six innings. He allowed two runs on four hits and struck out 10. Healy struck out the final two batters of the first inning and then worked out of a jam in the second. With two outs and a man on first, the Mount loaded the bases with back-to-back singles but Healy escaped any damage as Muscatello fielded a ground ball up the middle for the final out. Healy got locked in after that, striking out two batters in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings. The Mount finally got to him in the sixth, scoring a pair of runs on infield ground balls. A walk, bunt single and a passed ball put runners on second and third with one out and Andrew Clow put the Mountaineers on the board with an RBI ground ball. Mo Moriarty then beat out a double play ball to score the second run.

Bryant wasted no time grabbing the lead in game two of the doubleheader, scoring in the first inning. Sophomore Jordan Mountford (Guelph, Ont.) reached on a throwing error to start the game and Anderson moved him to third with a single up the middle. Anderson alertly advanced to second as the throw went to third and then scored behind Mountford on Brown's two-run single through the right side.

A pair of freshman pushed Bryant's lead to 4-0 in the fourth inning. Sophomore Matt Zanotta (Schenectady, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch with two outs and AJ Zarozny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) followed with a double to wall in right field, scoring Zanotta. It was Zarozny's first-career collegiate hit. Classmate Dan Cellucci (Sudbury, Mass.) followed with a single to left to score Zarozny and make it 4-0. A throwing error in the bottom of the fifth scored Brown from third to cap the Bulldogs' scoring in game two.

Senior Salvatore Lisanti (Bronx, N.Y.) worked a scoreless seventh to earn his second save of the season. Zarozny led the offense with the first two hits of his collegiate career.

The Bulldogs and Mountaineers wrap up their four-game series on Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. first pitch.