Theetge sets career wins record Thursday at Sacred Heart

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Senior Steve Theetge (Syracuse, N.Y.) became the winningest pitcher in program history and the Bryant University baseball team clinched the Northeast Conference Regular-Season title outright with a 14-4 victory over Sacred Heart on Thursday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Park.

Theetge allowed just four hits over seven scoreless to earn his 31st career victory, pushing him past Peter Kelich and into sole possession of first place on the all-time wins list. He also improved to 8-2 on the year and 23-2 against Northeast Conference opponents in his career.

Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Titus (Stafford, Conn.) sparked the offense, going 3-for-5 with five RBI, including his 11th home run of the season. Redshirt sophomore Ryan Ward (Millbury, Mass.) added four hits and freshmen Jake Gustin (Peabody, Mass.) and Brian Nicolas (Langhorne, Pa.) combined for five hits and six runs scored.

Game Information
Bryant 14, Sacred Heart 4
Records: Bryant (37-17, 18-4), Sacred Heart (18-31-1, 10-12)
Location: Veterans Memorial Park (Bridgeport, Conn.)
W|L|S: Steve Theetge (8-2) | Baylor Sundahl (1-5)

Key Moment

• With Bryant leading 3-0 in the fourth, Titus hammered a 3-2 pitch deep to left center for a three-run home run.

How it Happened

• Bryant got things going in the first, plating a pair of two-out runs. Ward singled to start the game and scored as junior Chris Wright (Cumberland, R.I.) doubled to left field. Sophomore Sam Owens (Scituate, R.I.) followed with a line-drive single to center to make it 2-0.
• The score remained 2-0 until the Black and Gold plated four runs in the fourth and four more in the fifth. In the fourth, junior James Ciliento (Mahwah, N.J.) drove in a run with a fielder's choice before Titus launched a three-run home run.
• Senior Nick Angelini (Bedford, N.H.) started the scoring in the fifth with a solo home run to left field. Ward delivered a run-scoring single through the right side and Titus capped the inning with a two-run single to right field.
• Bryant closed its scoring with four more runs in the eighth. A dropped pop up with two outs extended the inning and allowed the first run to score. Gustin (double) and Ward (single) then drove in runs and Nicolas scored on a wild pitch to close the inning.

Stats

• Bryant outhit Sacred Heart, 18-6.
• Theetge allowed four hits, walked two and struck out three over seven scoreless innings.
• Redshirt junior Mason Palmieri (Lincoln, R.I.) tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief to close the door.
• Ward finished 4-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. He also stole a base.
• Gustin finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored.
• Nicolas went 2-for-4 with two walks and three runs scored.
• Titus finished 3-for-5 with a home run and five RBI.
• Owens was 2-for-5 with an RBI.
• Wright doubled, drove in a run and scored twice.
• Angelini went 2-for-6 with a home run.  

Notes and Notables

• Bryant is now 30-16 against Sacred Heart at the DI level.
• The Bulldogs have now clinched the NEC Regular-Season title outright.
• The Bulldogs will be the No. 1 seed in the NEC Tournament for the seventh-straight year.
• The Bulldogs have now hit 75 home runs on the year, extending their NEC single-season record.
• Theetge earned his 31st career victory, setting the program record for a career.
• Theetge improved to 23-2 in his career against NEC opponents.
• Theetge has now thrown 330.2 innings his career, becoming just the third pitcher in program history to accomplish the feat.
• Theetge now has 256 career strikeouts, the third-most in program history. He needs 17 to tie the record.
• Wright extended his on-base streak to 42 games. It is the second-longest stretch in DI program history.
• Ward now has 87 hits on the season, tied for the second-most in a single-season in DI program history. It also ranks tied for fifth in program history.
• Ward posted his 4th four-hit game of the year and his 27th multi-hit game of the year.
• Ciliento scored his 64th run of the season, the third-most all-time at Bryant.
• Titus hit his 11th home run of the season. He is tied for the team lead with Ward.
• The 11 home runs are tied for the second most in a single season in DI program history.
• Titus now has 61 RBI on the season, becoming just the seventh player in program history to accomplish the feat. The RBI total ranks third in DI program history.
• Titus has driven in 5+ runs twice this season and has 14 multi-RBI games.
• Angelini hit his 9th home run of the year the 22nd of his career. He is now 2nd in DI program history.
• Angelini has now scored 50+ runs for the first time in his career. He has 183 runs scored in his career.
• Gustin posted his third three-hit game of the year and scored three runs for the second time.
• Nicolas now has 11 multi-hit games on the year. Six of those have come in NEC games.
• Owens was hit for the 19th time this season, the second-most in a single-season in DI program history. 

Up Next

Bryant and Sacred Heart continue their series on Friday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.