Sinisgalli delivers walk-off double in 12th

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Sam Sinisgalli delivered a walk-off double in the bottom of the 12th inning to lift the Bryant University baseball team to a 9-8 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday afternoon at Conaty Park.

The walk-off victory, Bryant's first this year, secured the weekend sweep for the Bulldogs. Bryant is now 11-1 in NEC play.

Bryant had already rallied from two down in the bottom of the ninth and down a run in the 11th before Sinisgalli's heroics. In the 12th, JP Knight reached for the third-straight at-bat when he was hit by a pitch. Sinisgalli then swatted the first pitch he saw into the left field corner. Knight scurried all the way around from first to score without a throw before joining the celebration in the middle of the diamond.

The Bulldogs finished the game with 18 hits, including five from Jake Gustin. Gustin doubled twice and homered to become the second Bulldog in as many days to tie the DI single-game record for hits (James Ciliento). Ciliento also finished with three hits, while Knight and Sinisgalli combined to score five runs.

Game Information
Bryant 9, Fairleigh Dickinson 8 (12 innings)
Records: Bryant (14-9-1, 11-1 NEC), FDU (3-14, 2-10 NEC)
Location: Conaty Park (Smithfield, R.I.)
W|L|S: John MacDonald (1-0) | Jude Baxt (1-2)

Key Moment

• Sinisgalli sent the Bulldog fans home happy as he scored Knight with a double in the bottom of the 12th.         

How it Happened

• Gustin gave Bryant a 1-0 lead in the fourth with home run to right field.
• The Knights responded with three unearned runs in the top of the fifth. An infield single tied the game and Tom Ruscitti was hit to make it 2-1. The third run scored on an infield error.
• Bryant answered with three of its own in the bottom of the inning. Knight reached on a dropped third strike and Lewis Barnum brought him home with his first collegiate hit. Matt Woods followed with an RBI ground out to tie the game and Gustin made it 4-3 with a single to center.
• The Bulldogs pushed the lead to 5-3 as Derek Smith doubled and scored on a Tommy DiTullio single.
• FDU battled back to tie the game with single runs in the seventh and eighth.
• The Knights then took a 7-5 lead on a two-out error in the top of the ninth.
• Bryant rallied in the bottom of the ninth, though, scoring twice to send the game to extras. Knight and Sinisgalli singled to open the inning and Woods and Gustin delivered back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game. The Bulldogs left the bases loaded, however.
• FDU grabbed a lead again in the 11th as Justin Sierra singled up the middle with two outs to bring home a run.
• Bryant responded in the bottom of the 11th. Gustin doubled into the right field corner and scored as the ball got away from the left fielder on a Ciliento single.
• In the 12th, Knight was hit by a pitch and then raced around to score the winning run on Sinisgall's double into the left field corner.

Stats

• Morgese allowed four runs (one earned) on seven hits over six plus innings. He walked two and struck out seven.
• Austin Wainer struck out three over 2.0 innings of relief. He allowed an unearned run on three hits.
• Will Treuel walked four and struck out three over 2.0 scoreless innings of relief.
• John MacDonald earned his first win of the year with a scoreless 12th. He struck out two.
• Woods had two hits and two RBI.
• Gustin finished with five hits and three RBI. He had two doubles and a home run.
• Ciliento went 3-for-5.
• Knight went 2-for-5 with three runs scored.
• Sinisgalli finished with two hits, an RBI and two runs.

Game Notes

• Ciliento now has 225 career hits, moving past John Mullen and into fifth place in Bryant's DI history. Next on the list is fellow Mahwah, N.J., native Cole Fabio with 226.
• Sinisgalli posted his second multi-hit game of the weekend.
• Gustin has now reached safely in 14-straight games.
• Gustin now has a team-leading 11 doubles and is tied for the team lead with five home runs.
• Gustin becomes just the 11th player in DI program history to post a five-hit game.
• Barnum collected his first-career hit in the ballgame.
• MacDonald earned his first win since April 28, 2019.
• Morgese's seven strikeouts give him 156 in his career, the eighth-most in DI program history.

Up Next

Bryant welcomes regional rival UConn to Conaty Park on Tuesday afternoon. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.