Bulldogs hang on to beat Wagner 3-2 in game two of Saturday's doubleheader

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior James Davitt (Wallingford, Conn.) allowed one run over five innings and sophomore Justin Snyder (Georgetown, Mass.) recorded the final six outs as the Bryant University baseball team held on to defeat Wagner 3-2 in game two of Saturday's doubleheader at Conaty Park.

With the win, the Bulldogs (23-7, 12-1 NEC) have won the first three games of the series and are now off to the best 30-game start in program history. The Seahawks (10-21, 5-10) left the tying run on base in the bottom of the seventh and have now lost 10-straight league games.

Bryant scored two runs in the second inning but needed a sixth-inning insurance run before surviving a late scare in the seventh. Anthony Godino reached on a throwing error to start the inning and came around to score on consecutive ground outs to make it 3-2. Snyder then issued a two-out walk but snared a comebacker from Nick Mascelli to end the game and earn his fifth save.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the second inning. Senior Zach Wood (Griswold, Conn.) walked with one out and made a great baserunning play to advance to second on a wild pitch. He then took third on another wild pitch and scored the first run of the game as freshman John Nollet (Storrs, Conn.) knocked a single up the middle. Nollet then stole second and came around to score on a single to left from senior Dan Cellucci (Sudbury, Mass.).

It stayed 2-0 until the Seahawks rallied in the fifth. Godino singled, Sean Mazzio walked and Brendan Benecke followed with a single to left after a lengthy at-bat to score a run and make it 2-1. Davitt then hit Kyle Brey on the foot to load the bases but induced a ground ball from Mascelli that Cellucci turned into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.

Bryant added a key insurance run in the sixth with a two-out rally. With a runner on first, Wood delivered a single to right to put runners on the corners with two outs. Sophomore Mickey Gasper (Merrimack, N.H.) followed with a pinch-hit RBI single to left field to make it 3-1.

Davitt worked through the first four innings without allowing a run thanks to a double play in the third. He allowed just one run on three hits, walked two and struck out four. Snyder allowed an unearned run on two hits over the final two innings.

Wood finished the game 2-for-2 with a run scored and all three of Bryant's runs were driven in by the bottom half of the lineup.

Austin Goeke suffered the loss for Wagner, allowing three runs on six hits in a complete-game effort. He walked four and struck out four. Godino finished 1-for-3 with two runs scored.

The Bulldogs and Seahawks wrap up their series on Sunday with a first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m.