Cruz homers twice but late rally falls short in series finale

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Junior Gaby Cruz (Miami, Fla.) had five hits, two home runs and six RBI but the Bryant University baseball team couldn't overcome an early deficit in a 10-9 loss to Mount St. Mary's in game two of a Northeast Conference doubleheader on Saturday at Conaty Park.

The Mountaineers scored four times in the second and three times in the fifth to take an early lead and then held off a late Bryant rally.

Cruz finished 5-for-5 with two home runs, six RBI and four runs scored, while junior Chris Wright (Cumberland, R.I.) and senior Nick Angelini (Bedford, N.H.) each chipped in three hits. Sophomore Sam Owens (Scituate, R.I.) had two hits.

Game Information
Mount St. Mary's 10, Bryant 9
Records: Bryant (34-15, 15-3), Mount St. Mary's (14-32, 7-14)
Location: Conaty Park (Smithfield, R.I.)
W|L|S: Michael Kuypers (3-3) | Jackson Harrigan (1-1) | Noah Smith (1)

Key Moment

•  Mount took advantage of two Bryant errors to score four times in the third inning.

How it Happened

• Mount plated the first two runs of the game in the top of the second. A bases-loaded walk and a bloop single to left plated the two runs.
• Bryant tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a two-run home run Cruz.
• The Mountaineers then plated four runs in the third. In the third, Thomas Savastio scored the first run with a bloop single to center and two more scored on a throwing error. The final run of the inning came in on a single to right field.
• In the fourth, Thomas Bramley's bloop to center made it 7-2. Four-straight two-out singles made it 10-2 in the fifth.
• Bryant chipped away, scoring four times in the sixth. Owens doubled to open the inning and came around to score on a ground out from redshirt sophomore Jimmy Titus (Stafford, Conn.). The Bulldogs then loaded the bases and Cruz plated two with an RBI single down the left field line. Freshman Vincenzo Castronovo (Utica, N.Y.) then beat out an infield single to make it 10-6.
• The Bulldogs made it 10-7 in the eighth as Owens scored Cruz with a two-out single to right.
• Bryant made one final push in the ninth as Angelini singled with two outs and Cruz followed with a towering two-run home run to left to make it 10-9.

Stats

• Bryant outhit Mount, 17-12
• Cruz went 5-for-5 with two home runs, six RBI and four runs scored.
• Wright went 3-for-5 with a run scored.
• Owens went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.
• Angelini went 3-for-5 with two runs scored.
• Junior Jack Ipsen (Eatontown, N.J.) tossed 2 1/3 innings of hitless relief.
• Senior Nathan Wrighter (Windsor, N.Y.) struck out two in a scoreless ninth. 

Notes and Notables

• Bryant is now 37-5 all-time against Mount St. Mary's.
• Bryant has now won 69 of their 73 NEC series.
• Bryant has now hit 73 home runs on the season, the most in a single season in NEC history. The previous record of 71 was held by Quinnipiac since 1999.
• Wright has now reached safely in 37-straight games.  
• Junior James Ciliento (Mahwah, N.J.) now has 60 runs scored on the year. He's just the sixth player in school history to do that and only the second in DI program history.  
• Cruz now has eight home runs this season.
• Cruz set career highs in hits, RBI and runs scored on the day.
• He's the first Bulldogs with five hits since Titus did so at Hartford on Mar. 20.
• Cruz has now homered twice in a game in each of the last two weekends.
• Angelini now has 229 hits, ninth in program history.
• Ipsen's 2 1/3 innings were a season high.

Up Next

The Bulldogs have the week off before opening an NEC series with LIU Brooklyn on Friday, May 10. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.