Theetge's 2-hit shutout completes Saturday sweep

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Led by a two-hit shutout from sophomore lefty Steve Theetge (Syracuse, N.Y.), the Bryant University baseball team completed a doubleheader sweep of Mount St. Mary's with an 11-0 win on Saturday afternoon at Murray Stadium on the campus of Brown University.

The win extends the Bulldogs' (24-21, 16-4 NEC) winning streak to a season-high seven games and is also the 28th-consecutive victory over the Mountaineers (7-34, 4-18 NEC).

Mount's Jared Urban led off the game with a bunt single but Theetge responded by retiring 21 of the final 22 batters he faced to post his second complete-game shutout of the season. The only batter Theetge didn't retire came in the first when Will Enrico hit a two-out ground ball that struck Urban sliding into second base. Theetge then set down the final 18 batters he faced, finishing with six strikeouts on the afternoon. He now has an NEC-leading seven wins and has pitched complete-game shutouts in each of his two career starts against Mount.

After being held scoreless in the first, the Black and Gold would score in each of the final five innings to earn a convincing victory. A pair of unearned runs opened the scoring in the second. Freshman James Ciliento (Mahwah, N.J.) reached on a two-out throwing error and classmate Gaby Cruz (Miami, Fla.) followed with an RBI double over the head of the left fielder. Senior Jacob Marotta (Bridgewater, Mass.) then hit a chopper to short that was thrown away at first, allowing Cruz to score.

Freshman Jimmy Titus (Stafford, Conn.) plated classmate Chris Wright (Cumberland, R.I.) from first with a two-out double in the third, while Marotta (sac fly) and junior Mickey Gasper (Merrimack, N.H.) (single) drove in runs in the fourth.

In the fifth, Titus walked, sophomore Tyler Panno (Rivervale, N.J.) singled and Ciliento advanced both with a perfect bunt. Marotta brought home both to make it 7-0 as he dropped a double down the left field line. It was his team-leading 12th double of the year.

Bryant capped its scoring with a four-run sixth. A fielder's choice scored the first run of the inning and Titus put an exclamation point on a big offensive day with a mammoth three-run home run to left center. It was his 7th of the year, the most by a Bulldog freshman in DI program history.

Titus finished 2-for-3 with four RBI and two runs scored, sophomore Nick Angelini (Bedford, N.H.) had two hits, Gasper finished 2-for-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch and Marotta drove in three runs. Gasper was 7-for-7 with three RBI in the two games on Saturday. Wright was held hitless but extended his on-base streak to 19 games with a hit by pitch.

Michael Collins suffered the loss for Mount, surrendering seven runs (four earned) on eight hits in five innings.

The Bulldogs and Mountaineers wrap up their four-game series with a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Conaty Park. First pitch is scheduled for noon and Bryant will honor its four-member senior class at 11:30.