BASEBALL CAPTURES 2010 NEC REGULAR SEASON TITLE
May 19, 2010
REGULAR SEASON CHAMPS
2010 NEC REGULAR SEASON CHAMPS !
BRYANT BASEBALL DEFEATS SACRED HEART 9-0 TO CLINCH CONFERENCE REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP
Baseball – Bryant 9, Sacred Heart 0 - Boxscore
CLICK ON LINKS BELOW FOR VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS COURTESY OF BRYANTBULLDOGS.TV
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SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior right hander Brent Almeida (Fairhaven, Mass.) allowed just six hits while striking out a career-high eight batters as the Bryant University baseball team defeated Sacred Heart University 9-0 to clinch the 2010 Northeast Conference regular season title Wednesday afternoon.
With a three-game lead heading into this week’s highly anticipated four game series with second place Sacred Heart, Bryant (32-21, 23-6 NEC) needed only one win to clinch the conference regular season title in just its first year competing in the NEC. Sacred Heart, coming off a sweep against Monmouth last weekend, drops to 28-23 overall, 19-10 in the NEC.
The game, played in a constant drizzle for much of the afternoon, was exactly what fans expected with both Almeida and Pioneer senior pitcher Chris Zaccherio locked into a pitcher’s duel for most of the game.
The Bulldogs pushed a run across in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly to center by senior Jeff Vigurs (South Windsor, Conn.) to score Kevin Brown (Northborough, Mass.) from third.
The score would stay that way for most of the game as Zaccherio would retire 13 straight Bryant batters before a leadoff bunt down the third base line by Nick Campbell (Raynham, Mass.) broke the string in the bottom of the seventh.
Campbell would eventually score on a sacrifice fly to right by Tim Norton (Barnstable, Mass.) to make it 2-0.
After retiring the Pioneers in order in the top of the eighth, the Bulldogs finally got through to Zaccherio in the bottom of the inning, scoring seven times with the big blow coming on a two-run double to left by Zakary Cianciolo (Prospect, Conn.). Jamie Skagerlind (Holden, Mass.)would single in Cianciolo to make it 6-0 and after moving into scoring position after an errant throw, Norton would make it 7-0 with a single up the middle to score Skagerlind.
The Bulldogs weren’t through just yet though as sophomore Mike DelPonte (Tewksbury, Mass.) belted his first home run of the season, a two-run shot to right field to make it 9-0.
Almeida, who managed to get out of some earlier jams with solid defense and some key strikeouts, would come back out in the top of the ninth and retired the Pioneers once again in order for his sixth win of the season (6-0) and third-straight complete game victory.
Almedia threw 112 pitches and walked only one batter in the game.
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| Tim Norton (left) caught the final out in Wednesday's 9-0 win over Sacred Heart. Video here of final play courtesy of www.bryantbulldogs.tv |
Vigurs, whose first inning RBI would prove to be the game-winning run, added his 61st career double, a Bryant record, in the seven-run eighth. He was also solid behind the plate, picking off SHU’s Rob Griffith at first to end a fourth-inning Pioneer threat and throwing out a stolen base attempt by Griffith in the seventh.
Norton went 2-for-3 on the day with two RBIs while Campbell had two runs for the Bulldogs who have now won six in-a-row and 18 of their last 21 games. The 32 victories this season matches last year’s win total in the team’s first year competing at the Division I level as an Independent. The Bulldogs were picked to finish fifth in the preseason NEC coaches poll.
However, the team is not eligible for postseason play until the school completes its four-year reclassification to Division I.
Bryant and Sacred Heart will play a doubleheader on Thursday starting at 1 pm and close out the series Friday with a single game starting at 1 pm at the Bryant Baseball Complex.