BASEBALL TAKES OPENER AGAINST WAGNER 8-4

April 30, 2010

BRYANT BASEBALL DEFEATS WAGNER 8-4 FRIDAY
Bulldogs take opener between top two teams in the NEC
College Baseball @ Smithfield, R.I. – Bryant 8, Wagner 4 - final

BOXSCORE

Jordan English belted his first home run of the season in Bryant's 8-4 win over Wagner Friday afternoon.

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Freshman Kevin Brown (Northborough, Mass.) and senior Jeff Vigurs (South Windsor, Conn.) had three hits apiece as the Bryant University baseball team took the opening game of a showdown between the top two teams in the Northeast Conference, 8-4 on a gusty afternoon at the Bryant Baseball Complex.

With the win, Bryant (20-19, 12-5) takes over sole possession of first place in the NEC but there is still plenty of baseball to be played as the two teams will play a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m. and will close out the four-game series with a single game Sunday, also at 1 p.m.

The Bulldogs jumped out quickly on the Seahawks, scoring a run in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Vigurs and added a solo home run by Jordan English (Windsor Locks, Conn.) to left center in the third to make it 2-0.  It was English’s first home run of the season and the fifth in his career.

In the fourth, Jamie Skagerlind (Holden,  Mass.) and Colin Dougherty (Lowell, Mass.) reached base after being hit by a pitch. Both would come around to score on a triple to center by Brown, making it 4-0. For Brown, it was his third triple of the season.

But the Wagner (17-20, 11-6) bats awoke in the fifth as Matt Logan led off the inning with a walk and moved to third on a double by Kevin McDonnell.  Logan would score on a sacrifice fly to center and after a strikeout to Brian Martutartus for the second out of the inning, Gabby Ramirez lined a single up the middle to make it 4-2. 

Bryant starter Brent Almeida (Fairhaven, Mass.) would get out of the inning by striking out Damian Csakai. 

Bryant would respond in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by Dylan Stone (Portsmouth, R.I.) and sacrifice fly by Skagerlind to make it 6-2 and the Bulldogs would hold on from there.

Almeida pitched six innings to improve to 3-0 on the season, allowing four runs on six hits while striking out three.  Reliever Nick Laude (Wells, Maine) came on in the seventh and allowed just a hit in 1 2/3 innings, pitching very effectively before giving way to closer Mark Andrews (Hillsborough, N.J.) who picked up his league-best ninth save of the season allowing just a hit to Seth Boyd in the eighth and striking out two in the ninth.

Bryant had 17 hits in the game and got a strong defensive effort as well led by the play of shortstop Zakary Cianciolo (Prospect, Conn.) who had seven assists defensively and a nice diving catch by English in right. 

Cianciolo, Skagerlind, Stone, English, and Nick Campbell (Raynham, Mass.) all had two hits in the game.  Campbell’s two hits extends current hit streak to 12 games and was his team-best 15th multiple-hit game this season. Vigurs and Brown each have 14 multiple-hit games on the year. 

For Andrews’, he now ties Paul Gately for fourth in saves in a single season with nine and within one of Adam Vuolo’s all-time career record of 20.