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VIGURS LIFTS BRYANT TO 5-4 WALK-OFF WIN OVER NORTHEASTERN IN MONDAY AFTERNOON THRILLER
May 11, 2009
VIGURS LIFTS BRYANT TO 5-4 WALK-OFF WIN OVER NORTHEASTERN IN MONDAY AFTERNOON THRILLER
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Jeff Vigurs (South Windsor, Conn.) hit a two-out, two-run walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift Bryant to a 5-4 victory over Northeastern Monday afternoon at the Bryant Baseball Complex in the team's 2009 home finale. The win was the 30th of the year for the Bulldogs, who are now 30-21 on the season, while finishing with an impressive 8-1 record at home. The squad also completed at two-game season sweep of the Huskies, after defeating Northeastern, 8-4, back on April 14.
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| Jeff Vigurs hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to lift Bryant to the win. Vigurs went two-for-five with three RBI in the game. www.dspics.com |
The hit for Vigurs was also the 200th of his career, making him the eighth player in the history of the program and the third Bulldog this season to accomplish the feat, as he joins Nick Campbell (Raynham, Mass.) and Pat McKenna (Orange, Conn.). The junior went two-for-five in the contest while driving in three more runs to give him 67 for the year, the second most by a Bulldog in a single season.
Bryant held a 3-1 lead heading into the top of the ninth, as senior starter Kevin Cobb (Acton, Mass.) was dominant through the first eight frames. Cobb had allowed just one unearned run on three hits through the first eight while striking out five, as he ended with a no decision. He set the side down in order in six of the first eight innings without giving up a hit until the fourth.
The senior made just one mistake in the game, and it came with one out in the top of the ninth as Northeastern's all-time leading home run hitter, Frank Pessanello, added another one to his total, launching a three-run, go-ahead home run over the fence in right field to put the Huskies on top 4-3.
Head coach Jamie Pinzino then turned to Mark Andrews (Hillsborough, N.J.) to get the final two outs of the inning. The sophomore closer got David Gustafson to fly out and Ryan Maguire to ground into a fielder's choice to end the inning, as he went on to capture his second win of the year.
With the Bulldogs trailing 4-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth, third baseman Tim Norton (Barnstable, Mass.) reached on a fielding error by shortstop Sam Berg to put the leadoff man on for the black and gold. McKenna followed with a single, his second of the day, putting runners on first and second with nobody out.
After Huskies' closer Dan Zehr was able to get Dylan Stone (Portsmouth, R.I.) down on strikes, Campbell hit a scorcher back at the mound that took Zehr‘s glove off. But the closer was able to knock the ball down and throw Campbell out at first for the second out of the inning, allowing McKenna and Norton to move into scoring position.
That set the stage for Vigurs, who has come up clutch in so many two-out situations before for the Bulldogs. After running the count to 2-1, the junior slapped an outside fastball down the third base line that was just out of the reach of Maguire, allowing Norton to score the tying run and McKenna to come around with the game-winner, as the Bulldogs took home a thrilling, 5-4 win.
Bryant broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth as Vigurs lined an RBI double down the line in left past the dive of left fielder Jeff Dunlap, scoring Campbell all the way from first to put the Bulldogs up 1-0. Vigurs now has a 12-game hitting streak, hitting .476 during that stretch with a home run and 11 RBI.
After Vigurs moved up to third on a ground out, Jordan English (Windsor Locks, Conn.) laid down a perfect suicide squeeze bunt to score the run and push the Bryant lead to 2-0.
Northeastern (26-21) would come back in the top of the 7th with their first run of the game, scoring on a fielding error to cut the deficit to 2-1. Gustafson hit a chopper to short, and a high hop went off of McKenna's glove allowing James Donaldson to score from third.
Bryant answered back with a run in the bottom of the seventh, as Jamie Skagerlind (Holden, Mass.) singled and eventually came in to score on a wild pitch, giving the Bulldogs a two-run lead once again at 3-1.
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| Kevin Cobb finished the year with a perfect 7-0 record. |
McKenna, Vigurs and Skagerlind all had two hits in the contest as the team combined for five runs on 12 hits. In most likely his last start in a Bulldog uniform, Cobb went 8.1 innings allowed four runs on six hits and striking out five while receiving a no-decision. He finished the season with a career-best seven wins (7-0 record) and a 3.35 ERA.
Bryant travels to Vermont for a doubleheader with the Catamounts on Tuesday before finishing up their season on Wednesday at Dartmouth.
Bryant University 5, Northeastern 4 (May 11, 2009 at Smithfield,
R.I.)
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Northeastern........ 000 000 103 - 4 7
1 (26-21)
Bryant University... 000 200 102 - 5 11
1 (30-21)
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Pitchers: Northeastern - Leenhouts; Ross(4); Lloyd(7); Zehr(9).
Bryant University - Kevin
Cobb;
Mark Andrews(9).
Win-Mark Andrews(2-4) Loss-Zehr(2-2) T-2:10
A-200
HR NU - Pesanello (10).
Weather: mostly sunny, 65