Posted: May 12, 2009

O’CONNOR HELPS BULLDOGS TO DOUBLEHEADER SWEEP, 10-3 AND 4-3, OVER VERMONT

May 12, 2009

O'CONNOR HELPS BULLDOGS TO DOUBLEHEADER SWEEP, 10-3 AND 4-3, OVER VERMONT

BURLINGTON, VT - Pat O'Connor (Mattapoisett, Mass.) went two-for-four with four RBI as the Bryant baseball team exploded for 10 runs on 12 hits to take down Vermont, 10-3, in game one of a doubleheader on Tuesday. The Bulldogs also took the night cap, 4-3, to win their fifth-straight game. Bryant improved to 32-21 with the sweep and 13-5 against New England Division I teams.

Game 1
O'Connor was also helped out by teammates Pat McKenna (Orange, Conn.) and Nick Campbell (Raynham, Mass.), who each had three hits on the day to lead Bryant to the 10-3 win. McKenna went three-for-three with two RBI and two runs scored, giving him 234 career hits, which ties him for fourth on the Bryant all-time hit list. Campbell was three-for-four with two RBI, extending his hitting streak to seven-straight games and pushing him over the 250-hit mark for his career, the most ever in Bryant history.

O'Connor got Bryant on the board early, hitting a two-out triple to right center that plated Dylan Stone (Portsmouth, R.I.) and Jeff Vigurs (South Windsor, Conn.) to put the Bulldogs on top 2-0 after half an inning.

The Catamounts got one back in the bottom of the frame on a Matt Duffy home run to right field off of Bryant starter Eric Polvani (Wallingford, Conn.), cutting the deficit down to 2-1.

That would be one of the few mistakes by Polvani on the day, as the junior went six strong,

allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits on his way to his team-leading eighth win. Polvani is now 8-2 on the year and has gone unbeaten in his last seven starts, posting a 6-0 record with a 1.44 ERA in that stretch.

Bryant (32-21) responded back with two more in the top of the second to push the lead to 4-1. Again the Bulldogs did it all with two outs, as McKenna drove home a run with a two-out double down the line in right, and two batters later Campbell lined a run-scoring single.

The Bulldogs put the game out of reach with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, and a four-run rally in the sixth. McKenna brought home his second RBI of the day in the fourth with another single that scored Scott Merritt (Norwalk, Conn.) from second with Bryant's fifth run of the day to put the visitors up 5-2 at the time.

Eric Polvani won his team-leading eighth game of the year, going six innings while allowing just three runs. The junior is 6-0 with a 1.44 ERA in his last seven starts.

Jamie Skagerlind (Holden, Mass.) added an RBI in the fifth with a single to center to extend the Bryant lead to 6-2. Bryant then rallied for four more runs in the sixth, highlighted by a one-out double to left field by O'Connor that plated two more RBI for the senior and gave the Bulldogs a comfortable 10-2 lead.

Vermont would get one run in the sixth, but that would be it as Matt Griswold (Berlin, Conn.) set the Catamounts down in order in the seventh to seal the win.

Game 2
The Bulldogs scored four early runs, tallying three times in the first and once in the second to take a lead that they would not relinquish, as they held on to the 4-3 win. The Bryant bullpen came up big, as John Michael Ryan (Worcester, Mass.) and Mark Andrews (Hillsborough, N.J.) combined to shutout Vermont over the last three innings to seal up the win.

Bryant started right where they left off in game one, scoring three runs in the first inning to take the early, 3-0, advantage. Vigurs delivered the first run, singling on the ground through the right side to score Stone from second and drive in his 68^th RBI of the season. O'Connor followed by reaching on a fielder's choice that scored Campbell from third, and Vigurs would later score the third run after O'Connor was caught stealing second.

Jon Beauregard (New Bedford, Mass.) tacked on another run in the second, hitting a single through the left side that brought home Skagerlind, extending the Bulldog lead to 4-0. The RBI, Beauregard's sixth of the year, would be the last run for Bryant and prove to be the game-winner.

Staked to a 4-0 lead, Dan Lozeau (Pelham, N.H.) shut down the Catamounts through the first three innings. The senior did not allow a hit while walking just one batter over the first three frames. Lozeau retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced before running into trouble in the fourth. Vermont would load the bases against the Bryant right-hander, and Ethan Paquette would hit a clutch, two-out three-run double to cut the Bulldog lead down to one at 4-3. Lozeau allowed just the three runs on five hits over four innings of work as he earned his sixth win of the year.

Ryan took over for Lozeau in the fifth, setting down all five batters he faced in order while striking out two. Andrews then came in to close the game in the seventh, striking out one batter on his way to his tenth save of the year.

The Bulldogs will close out the 2009 season on Wednesday when they travel to Dartmouth to battle the Big Green at 2:00 p.m.

Game 1
Bryant University 10, Vermont 3 (May 12, 2009 at Burlington, Vt.) (Game 1)
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Bryant University... 220 114 0 - 10 12 3 (31-21)
Vermont............. 101 001 0 - 3 6 3 (19-29)
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Pitchers: Bryant University - Eric Polvani; Matt Griswold(7). Vermont - McCullough; Ozanich(5).
Win-Eric Polvani(8-2) Loss-McCullough(0-2) T-1:59 A-0
HR VERMONT - Duffy (12).
Weather: sunny, 65 degrees

Game 2
Bryant University 4, Vermont 3 (May 12, 2009 at Burlington, Vt.) (Game 2)
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Bryant University... 310 000 0 - 4 7 0 (32-21)
Vermont............. 000 300 0 - 3 5 3 (19-30)
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Pitchers: Bryant University - Dan Lozeau; John Michael Ryan(5); Mark Andrews(7). Vermont -
Glynne; Sorenson(5).
Win-Dan Lozeau(6-2) Save-Mark Andrews(10) Loss-Glynne(0-1) T-1:40 A-316
Weather: sunny, 65 degrees