McCarthy's three-run home run pushes Bryant past SHU, 7-3, Friday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior Buck McCarthy's (Saugus, Mass.) three-run home run in the third inning was the different as the Bryant University baseball team defeated Sacred Heart 7-3 on Friday afternoon at Conaty Park.

The Bulldogs (31-7, 14-1 NEC) have now won 11-straight games overall and 10-straight home games. The Pioneers (21-17, 12-4) have lost three-straight games and are now 2.5 games back of the Black and Gold in the league standings.

With the game tied at 2-2 in the third inning, McCarthy strode to the plate and broke the deadlock with one swing of the bat. Moments before, classmate Robby Rinn (Warwick, R.I.) tied the game with a sac fly to center. Two batters later, McCarthy drove the first pitch he saw from SHU starter Jason Foley into the 'faithful' in left center for his fifth home run of the season.

The Bulldogs would go on to add two more key insurance runs in the seventh inning thanks to a Rinn single. Sophomore Malik Daley (Northborough, Mass.) was hit by a pitch to open the inning, stole second and advanced to third as the throw went into center. Junior Cole Fabio (Mahwah, N.J.) then hit a chopper to third that Jesus Medina fielded but instead of throwing to first, he tried to tag out Daley and was unsuccessful. Another hit batter loaded the bases before Rinn lined a two-run single into right field.

Sacred Heart made things interesting over the final two innings, putting the tying run in the on deck circle in both frames. In the eighth, Medina greeted sophomore reliever Ross Weiner (Woodbridge, Conn.) with a double down the third base line and came around to score on a single from Alex Perry. The Bulldogs then summoned sophomore Justin Snyder (Georgetown, Mass.) and he halted the rally with a fly out and a fielder's choice.

In the ninth, Zack Short and Victor Sorrento singled to open the inning but Snyder rebounded to retire the final three batters, striking out Keith Klebart swinging to secure his league-leading sixth save of the season.

Bryant scored the first run of the game thanks to a SHU error in the second inning. A hit batter and a walk put two runners on before senior Zach Wood (Griswold, Conn.) hit a ground ball to third that went under Medina's glove and into left field, allowing junior Matt Albanese (East Haddam, Conn.) to score.

The Pioneers answered in the top of the third, plating two runs to take a momentary 2-1 lead. Ted Shaw opened the inning with a triple to left center and scored on a ground ball from Jayson Sullivan. Bryant committed an error on the play to allow Sullivan to reach safely and he later scored on a sac fly from Dan Schock to make it 2-1.

Sophomore James Karinchak (Walden, N.Y.) put together another gutsy performance for the Black and Gold despite not having his best stuff. He allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits, walked four and struck out six over seven innings to improve to 9-1 on the year. Karinchak stranded the bases loaded in the first, struck out the side in the fourth and finished his outing by retiring 11 of the final 13 batters he faced.

McCarthy and Rinn each drove in three runs in the ballgame, while Fabio and Daley each scored two runs. Daley was on base three times with two walks and a hit by pitch.

Foley fell to 3-3 on the year as he allowed five runs (four earned) on just three hits in 2 2/3 innings. He walked two and also hit two. Brent Teller tossed 3 2/3 innings of relief. Sorrento and Doyle each finished with two hits for the Pioneers.

Bryant and Sacred Heart continue their series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m.