Patterson tosses shutout as Bulldogs complete Saturday sweep of FDU

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Junior Jack Patterson (Suffield, Conn.) tossed a complete-game shutout as the Bryant University baseball team completed a sweep of a Northeast Conference doubleheader with an 11-0 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday afternoon at Conaty Park.

With the win, the Bulldogs (20-21, 13-4 NEC) have secured the series victory and will go for the sweep of the Knights (10-23, 7-7 NEC) on Sunday. Bryant scored 11 runs in each of Saturday's games and has outscored FDU 37-8 in the first three games of the series.

In his first start in exactly two years to the date, Patterson pitched his first-career complete game shutout and tied a career-high with eight strikeouts. He surrendered just five hits and walked two to improve to 2-0 on the year. Patterson allowed a leadoff single but picked off the runner. He didn't allow another hit until a leadoff single in the fifth and worked around two hits in the seventh to complete the shutout. Patterson has now tossed 15-straight scoreless innings and has allowed just seven hits and struck out 18.

With Patterson dealing, the Bulldogs jumped on FDU early, scoring 10 runs over the first three innings. A throwing error and two walks loaded the bases in the first and freshman Chris Wright (Cumberland, R.I.) started the scoring with a two-run single to center. Classmate James Ciliento (Mahwah, N.J.) scored a run with a fielder's choice and sophomore Tyler Panno (Rivervale, N.J.) plated a run with a single through the right side. Senior Jacob Marotta (Bridgewater, Mass.) brought home the fifth run of the inning with a perfect safety squeeze.

The Black and Gold added four more runs in the second. Sophomore Nick Angelini (Bedford, N.H.) tripled and scored on a single from junior Mickey Gasper (Merrimack, N.H.). A hit batter and a walk loaded the bases and Panno cleared them with a two-out triple to right center, making it 9-0.

A Gasper single in the third made it 10-0 and senior Joe Paparelli (Preston, Conn.) capped the scoring with a towering home run off the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth. It was his first home run of the season and the second of his career.  

Gasper finished 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, Wright had two hits, two RBI and two runs scored and Panno had two hits and a career-high four RBI. Fabio and Angelini each scored twice.

In the two games, Panno went 4-for-6 with five RBI, Gasper was 4-for-7 with four RBI, Ciliento was 4-for-8 with six RBI, Angelini had three hits, four runs scored, three walks and two stolen bases and Fabio had three hits, three runs scored and three stolen bases.

Logan Frati allowed 10 runs (eight earned) on seven hits in three innings for FDU. He walked five. Jorge Iza had two of the five hits for the Knights.

Bryant and FDU wrap up their series on Sunday afternoon with a first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m.