Big 7th pushes baseball past Brown, 11-4

BULLDOGS' WIN STREAK HITS 10 WITH 11-4 TRIUMPH OVER BROWN

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior Dan Muscatello (Hopkinton, Mass.) had three hits and four RBI and the Bryant University baseball team broke a 4-4 tie with a six-run seventh inning on its way to an 11-4 victory over Brown on Thursday afternoon at Murray Stadium.

In a game that was originally scheduled to be played Tuesday, the Bulldogs (15-9-1) were able to win their 10^th-straight game overall and their fourth-straight over the Bears (2-16). Bryant's winning streak is currently the second longest in the country.

Trailing 4-3 entering the sixth inning, the Bulldogs were first able to tie the game, and then, take a commanding lead in the seventh. The Black and Gold managed just one baserunner after the first inning, a Muscatello bunt single in the fourth, before senior Kevin Brown (Northborough, Mass.) led off the sixth with a double to the base of the right-center field wall. A sac bunt moved him to third and sophomore Daniel St. George (Shelton, Conn.) followed with a sac fly to left to tie the game at 4-4.

Bryant broke the game open the very next inning. Freshman Daniel Palazzo (Rocky Hill, Conn.) started the rally with a one-out, pinch-hit single through the left side. Following a strikeout, sophomore Jordan Mountford (Guelph, Ont.) kept the inning alive as he beat out a check-swing dribbler to second base. His hustle paid off as freshman AJ Zarozny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) singled through the left side to score pinch-runner Alex Lagos (Wrentham, Mass.) with the lead run. The Bears then decided to load the bases by intentionally walking Brown but sophomore Carl Anderson (Sudbury, Mass.) made it hurt by driving a two-run single to center field, pushing the lead to 7-4. An infield error made it 8-4 and Muscatello capped the scoring with a two-run double to left-center.

The Bulldogs jumped on the board quickly in the first, scoring three runs. Mountford was hit by the first pitch of the game and then eventually stole second and third. Brown walked and Anderson followed with an RBI single to center to make it 1-0. A passed ball moved both runners into scoring position and Muscatello knocked both in with a seeing-eye single up the middle to make it 3-0.

Brown, however, answered with a pair of runs over the first two innings to grab the lead. Bryant starter Joseph Michaud (Milford, Conn.) appeared to be out of both innings but the Bears took advantage with two outs. A two-out hit by pitch in the first kept the inning alive and Wes Van Boom followed with a double down the left field line to make it 3-2. In the second, Dan Massey came up with two outs and a man on first and hit a two-run home run to right field to give Brown a 4-3 lead.

It was all the Bears would muster on the afternoon against Michaud though. The right-hander struck out a pair in a 1-2-3 third, stranded a runner on second in the fourth, worked a perfect fifth and struck out a pair in the sixth to strand a runner on second. Michaud finished his afternoon with a career-high nine strikeouts, allowing four runs on five hits. He evened his record at 2-2 on the year. Sophomore Trevor Lacosse (Watervliet, N.Y.), redshirt junior Vaughn Hayward (Glendale, R.I.) and senior Salvatore Lisanti (Bronx, N.Y.) each worked a scoreless inning of relief to close out the victory.

Bryant capped its scoring with a single run in the ninth. Anderson singled, back-to-back walks loaded the bases with two outs and sophomore Matt Zanotta (Schenectady, N.Y.) singled through the right side to make it 11-4.

Muscatello and Anderson combined for six hits, seven RBI and three runs on the afternoon. For Anderson, it was the third-straight game in which he has registered three hits. Brown's leadoff double in the sixth inning was also his 61^st career double, tying him with Jeff Vigurs for the all-time program record. He also walked twice and scored three runs. Mountford added a pair of runs scored as well, extending his streak to 11 games with at least one run scored.

The Bulldogs return to Conaty Park this weekend when they host Siena in a three-game series beginning on Saturday, April 6. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday and finish the series with a single game on Sunday.