Bulldogs reach 30-win plateau with 10-0 win over Mount

EMMITSBURG, Md. – Juniors Steve Theetge (Syracuse, N.Y.) and Craig Lacey (Westfield, Mass.) combined on a three-hitter and the Bryant University baseball team pounded out 14 hits on its way to a 10-0 victory over Mount St. Mary's in game one of Thursday's Northeast Conference doubleheader.

With the victory, the Bulldogs lowered their magic number to clinch their seventh-straight NEC Regular-Season title to two. Bryant also secured its sixth 30-win season in eight years under head coach Steve Owens.

Theetge picked up his fifth win of the year with six scoreless innings, while Lacey tossed three innings of one-hit relief to close out the ballgame. Offensively, five Bulldogs finished with two hits led by sophomore Chris Wright's (Cumberland, R.I.) two hits, three RBI and two walks.

Game Information

Bryant 10, Mount St. Mary's 0

Records: Bryant (30-20-1, 20-6), Mount St. Mary's (20-30, 14-12)

Location: E.T. Straw Family Stadium (Emmitsburg, Md.)

W|L|S: Steve Theetge (5-7) | Trey McGough (4-6) | Craig Lacey (2)

Key Moments

• Two hits from sophomore James Ciliento (Mahwah, N.J.) helped extend Bryant's lead to 4-0 in the latter stages of game one. He moved Hart to third with a perfect hit-and-run single through the right side in the seventh and then came around to score on his own hit in the eighth.

How it happened

• Bryant struck first thanks to three Mount errors in the first. With runners on first and second, Mount third baseman Vaughn Parker field a ground ball, touched the bag but threw wildly to first. Redshirt freshman Ryan Ward (Millbury, Mass.) followed with an infield single off the glove of the first baseman to score the run.
• The Bulldogs extended their lead to 2-0 with a run in the fourth. Sophomore Bryan Hart (Franklin, Mass.) walked with one out, took third on a Ciliento single and scored on a single to right from Wright.
• Bryant then added single runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Freshman Shane Kelly (Sewell, N.J.) doubled inside the third base bag and came around to score on a single up the middle from junior Nick Angelini (Bedford, N.H.) in the seventh.
• In the eighth, Ciliento drove the ball off the fence in center field and raced into third with a triple. He was then waved home as the relay was bobbled in shallow center.
• Bryant put the game away with six runs in the top of the ninth. Freshman Sam Owens (Scituate, R.I.) drove in a run with a fielder's choice, Wright flared a two-run single into shallow left and senior Mickey Gasper (Merrimack, N.H.) capped the inning with a monstrous three-run home run to right center.

Stats

• Bryant outhit Mount St. Mary's, 14-3.
• The two teams combined to make 10 errors.  
• Theetge allowed two hits, walked two and struck out six over six scoreless innings.
• Lacey allowed one hit, walked two and struck out two over three scoreless innings of relief.
• Ciliento finished 2-for-5 with a triple and two runs scored.
• Wright went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs scored and two walks.
• Gasper homered and drove in three.
• Kelly posted two hits and scored a run.
• Angelini had two hits, an RBI and a run scored.
• Redshirt junior Nolan Hayward (Glendale, R.I.) entered as a sub and picked up two hits.
• Hart finished with two runs scored.

Game Notes

• Bryant improves to 33-3 all-time against Mount St. Mary's.
• Bryant has now won three of the four meetings with Mount this year.
• The Bulldogs secured their sixth 30-win season in eight years under coach Owens.
• Bryant's five errors were the second-most it has made this season.
• The Bulldogs posted their fourth shutout of the year.
• Ward collected his 92nd hit of the season and his 47th RBI of the year. He is seven hits shy of tying the program record for hits in a single season.
• Gasper hit his seventh home run of the season in the ninth inning. All seven have come in NEC games.
• Ciliento posted his 20th multi-hit game of the year. The triple was his first of the year.
• Wright posted his 13th multi-hit game of the year.
• Wright has now hit safely in 10-straight games.
• Angelini posted his ninth multi-hit game of the year.
• Theetge improved to 18-1 against NEC teams in his career.
• He now has 22 career victories.
• Bryant now has five pitchers with five wins this season.
• Lacey earned his second save of the year in his career-high 20th appearance of the year.
• He's allowed just two earned runs over his last 10 appearances (15 innings).