Ciliento homers twice and drives in six as Bulldogs win finale, 20-2

BROOKLYN – Sophomore James Ciliento (Mahwah, N.J.) hit two home runs and drove in a career-high six runs as the Bryant University baseball team wrapped up a Northeast Conference series victory with a 20-2 win over LIU Brooklyn in game two of Saturday's doubleheader.

Ciliento led Bryant's 19-hit barrage with two home runs and six RBI, while redshirt freshman Ryan Ward (Millbury, Mass.) added four hits, three doubles, two RBI and three runs scored. Sophomore Chris Wright (Cumberland, R.I.) hit his second home run of the weekend, junior Nick Angelini (Bedford, N.H.) tied his career-high with four hits and sophomore Gaby Cruz (Miami, Fla.) posted three doubles.

The offensive outburst backed an outstanding start from junior Craig Lacey (Westfield, Mass.). Making his first start of the year, Lacey scattered six hits and struck out four over five scoreless innings. He induced three double-play balls on the afternoon.

Game Information

Bryant 20, LIU Brooklyn 2

Records: Bryant (14-14, 6-4 NEC), LIU Brooklyn (15-13, 6-4 NEC)

Location: LIU Field (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

W|L|S: Craig Lacey (3-1) | Anthony Rupp (1-3)

Coach Owens' Comments

"It was a good response to what started as a good day and wound up in a dissapointing loss in game one. We didn't close it out. We blew a substantial lead late in the game which he haven't done very often in our conference. They are a pretty solid club so it was good to win 3-of-4, it could have been a perfect weekend, but we got some more work to do.

Ryan and James are tough kids and have been consistent for us all year. If we can get other pieces of the puzzle going, Nick's coming on, Chris had a good weekend, get Mickey and Tyler going. We had good production from the bottom of our lineup in game one. If we can get deeper production from our offense we could be a really good offense. I really like what we're doing with our pitching and our defense."

Key Moment

• Just 30 minutes after a heartbreaking game one loss, the Bulldogs grabbed the momentum right back with two runs just two batters into the game as Ciliento went deep to right center.

How it happened

• Ward lined the first pitch of the game back up the middle and Ciliento hit his first home run of the season over the right center wall to make it 2-0. A third run came home on a double play ball.
• Wright extended the lead to 4-0 with a long home run to right center.
• Ward and Ciliento combined to drive in three runs in the top of the fourth. Ward doubled home Cruz (double) and Ciliento followed with a towering two-run home run to left field.
• Four more runs crossed the plate in the top of the fifth. Wright doubled to open the inning and came around to score on a wild pitch. Freshman Sam Owens (Scituate, R.I.) drove in a run with a sac fly, Ward doubled home a run and came around to score on a balk to make it 11-0.
• Freshman Shane Kelly (Sewell, N.J.) and Angelini singled in the sixth and junior Tyler Panno (Rivervale, N.J.) drove in a run with a ground out to first.
• Bryant added three more runs in the seventh. With the bases loaded, Kelly hit a ground ball back to the mound. LIU got an out at home but the relay to first was thrown away to allow a run to score. Wright drove home a run with a ground ball to first and Angelini delivered a sac fly to make it 15-0.  
• LIU got on the board via a wild pitch in the seventh and a Luis Arias solo home run in the eighth.
• Bryant closed its scoring with five runs in the ninth. Cruz delivered a sac fly, junior Dante Ricciardi (West Boylston, Mass.) scored two with a double and Ciliento capped the scoring with a two-run double off the left center wall.  

Stats

• Bryant out-hit LIU Brooklyn, 19-9.
• Lacey allowed six hits, didn't walk a batter and struck out four over five scoreless innings. He induced three double-play balls.
• Redshirt junior Justin Snyder (Georgetown, Mass.) tossed 2 1/3 innings of relief. He allowed one run on two hits and struck out two.
• Freshman Matthew Stansky (Douglas, Mass.) allowed a run and struck out one as he got the final two outs of the eighth.
• Redshirt freshman Nash Eppard (Essex, Conn.) made his collegiate debut, pitching a scoreless ninth. He struck out two.
• Ward finished 4-for-6 with three doubles, two RBI and three runs scored. Ward also stole a base.
• Ciliento went 4-for-5 with two home runs, six RBI, three runs scored and two walks.
• Gasper walked twice and scored twice.
• Kelly delivered a hit and scored twice.
• Wright went 2-for-5 with a double, home run, two RBI and three runs scored.
• Angelini finished 4-for-5 with an RBI.
• Cruz went 3-for-4 with three doubles, an RBI and two runs scored.

Game Notes

• The Bulldogs are now 31-12 all-time against LIU Brooklyn.
• Bryant won its 43-4-15 all-time in NEC series.
• The 20 runs are a season-high for the Bulldogs.
• It is the first time the Bulldogs have scored 20 runs in a game since they scored 21 against LIU Brooklyn on May 8, 2016.
• Bryant pitchers allowed just 27 hits in the four games, struck out 37 and walked just five. 
• The Bulldogs outscored LIU Brooklyn 44-12 on the weekend. 
• Lacey matched his career-high with five innings. He tossed five innings against Northeastern as a freshman in 2016.
• Ward extended his hitting streak to 14 games and his on-base streak to 24 games. Both are the longest of his career.
• Ward set a career-high with three doubles. He is the first Bulldog to double three times in a game since AJ Zarozny on Feb. 26, 2016 at San Diego State.
• Ward hit five doubles in the doubleheader and finished with six on the weekend. He went 10-for-18 with six doubles, four RBI, eight runs scored and three stolen bases.  
• Ward's four hits tied a career-high. It was his 14th multi-hit game of the year.
• Ciliento posted his first-career multi-homer game. They were the second and third home runs of his career. Ciliento is the first since Tyler Panno (at Auburn) to hit two home runs in one game.
• Ciliento collected multiple RBIs for the third time this weekend. The six RBI surpass his previous career-high of five that he set last year vs. Fairleigh Dickinson.
• He also tied his career high with four hits and posted his 12th multi-hit game of the year.
• Ciliento finished the weekend 8-for-16 with three doubles, two home runs, 12 RBI, seven runs scored and three walks.
• Cruz posted a career-high three doubles, joining Ward as the first to do so since Zarozny in 2016.
• Cruz's three-hit game is his first of the season and the third of his career. He finished the weekend 7-for-14 with four RBI.
• Cruz has now reached safely in 14-straight games. He has six multi-hit games in his last 14 outings.
• Wright hit his second home run of the weekend and his fourth of the year, tying his total from last year. Wright also posted his sixth multi-RBI game of the year. He tied his career-high with three runs scored.
• Wright finished the weekend 7-for-15 with a double, two home runs, six RBI and eight runs scored.   
• Angelini tied his career high with four hits. He accomplished the feat in May of 2016 at Central Connecticut.
• Angelini reached safely for the 14th-straight game.

Up Next

Bryant will visit regional rival Connecticut on Tuesday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.