Anderson's career-day leads Bulldog sweep

ANDERSON HAS SIX HITS AS BULLDOGS ROLL KNIGHTS

TEANECK, N.J. – Sophomore Carl Anderson (Sudbury, Mass.) tied a career-high with three hits and three RBI to lead the Bryant University baseball team to a 7-1 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson in game one on Saturday afternoon at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex. Anderson added three more hits and sophomore Daniel St. George (Shelton, Conn.) drove in three runs to lead the Black and Gold to a 12-3 victory in game two.

With the victories, the Bulldogs (14-9-1, 8-0 NEC) swept the Knights (3-17, 0-8) for the third time in three years. Bryant has now won nine-straight games. 

GAME TWO

Scoring in the first inning has become a habit for the Bulldogs and they did it again in game one on Saturday, plating a pair of runs. Freshman AJ Zarozny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and senior Kevin Brown (Northborough, Mass.) both walked and then successfully pulled a double-steal to get into scoring position. Anderson followed by drilling a 3-2 pitch off the center field fence to score both runners.

The Knights nearly erased the deficit in the second inning but left the bases loaded. John Giakas and Brett Bittiger knocked back-to-back one-out singles and Bryant starter John Healy (Cranston, R.I.) walked the next two batters to force in the first FDU run. Healy, however, stopped the bleeding there as he induced a ground ball and seniors Adam Claire (Litchfield, Conn.) and Dan Muscatello (Hopkinton, Mass.) turned it into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

The Bulldogs then opened up the game with four runs over the next two innings. In the third, they were able to plate a run without the benefit of a hit. Brown walked to start the inning, Anderson was hit by a pitch and Muscatello walked to load the bases with one out. Junior Tom Gavitt (North Stonington, Conn.) followed with a deep fly ball to center that scored Brown from third. In the fourth, four-straight two-out hits led to three Bulldog runs. Sophomore Jordan Mountford (Guelph, Ont.) worked a two-out walk and scored on a Zarozny double to right-center. Brown followed with a single of his own to score Zarozny, Mullen singled to center and Anderson scored Brown with a single to left to make it 6-1.

Bryant capped its scoring with a single run in the seventh. Anderson singled to right, his third hit, and Muscatello singled to left to start the inning. Both advanced an extra base on the play and Anderson would score on Gavitt's second sac fly of the afternoon.

After escaping the second, Healy settled down over the next three innings, allowing just the one run on six hits. He struck out two and walked two as he moved to 4-0 on the season. Healy erased a leadoff single in the third with a 4-6-3 double play ball, worked around a leadoff single in the fourth and shook off a scary comebacker to retire the Knights in the fifth. Kyle Weeks's line drive caught him on the shoulder but he was able to stay in the game and retire Eric Anderson to end the inning.

Anderson finished 3-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored. Brown was 1-for-2 with three runs scored and Zarozny finished with an RBI and two runs scored. Redshirt junior Vaughn Hayward (Glendale, R.I.) pitched the final two innings, allowing just one hit and striking out two.

GAME TWO

The Bulldogs completed the series sweep with a dominant offensive display, scoring 12 runs on 15 hits.

Bryant didn't score in the first inning in game two, but they scored in each of the next three innings. Muscatello started a two-out rally in the second with a sharp single to center. He stole second and scored as St. George's fly ball to right dropped between two fielders for an RBI double. Junior Jonathan Scott (Princeton, N.J.) followed that with a single through the left side to score St. George and make it 2-0.

The Black and Gold tacked on eight more runs over the next two frames to open up the ballgame. Mountford opened the third with a monstrous home run to right field, his first of the season. In the fourth, Bryant plated seven runs on seven hits to build a 10-0 lead. Anderson doubled to start the inning, Muscatello reached on a bunt single and St. George ripped an RBI single to center. A walk to Scott loaded the bases and freshman Dan Cellucci (Sudbury, Mass.) made it 5-0 with a single to center. Zarozny and Brown followed with two-run hits each as Zarozny doubled home a pair and Brown singled in two. The final run of the inning scored on a Muscatello fly ball.

Bryant closed the scoring with two runs in the sixth. Sophomore Matt Zanotta (Schenectady, N.Y.) doubled down the left field line with one out and scored on a Claire sac fly to right field. St. George followed with his third RBI single of the game to make it 12-1.

Junior Craig Schlitter (Guilford, Conn.) started game two for the Bulldogs and earned his third win of the season with six innings of one-run ball. He allowed just three hits, walked four and struck out six. After allowing a single to start the game, Schlitter induced a 4-6-3 double play and then retired the next seven hitters in order. He struck out the side in the third before allowing his only run in the fourth. Moonan doubled to start the inning and then scored on a balk. Schlitter kept FDU off the board in the fifth as he struck out Kyle Weeks with the bases loaded to end the inning. He finished his afternoon with a 1-2-3 sixth.

Anderson and St. George led the offense with three hits apiece. Anderson scored twice and St. George drove in three runs and also scored twice. Brown went 1-for-4, walked twice and drove in two runs. On the week, Brown went 8-for-12 with three home runs, 14 RBI, 11 runs scored, 11 walks and seven stolen bases. Muscatello had two hits and scored twice and Scott had an RBI single and drew three walks. Sophomore Trevor Lacosse (Watervliet, N.Y.) allowed one run over two innings and freshman Robert Morgenroth (North Caldwell, N.J.) allowed a run in the ninth to close the door.

The Bulldogs will return to the diamond on Tuesday, April 2 when they travel to Providence to take on Brown.