BOX SCORE
Smithfield, RI - Bryant capped a doubleheader sweep of Wagner with a 6-3 victory in the second game at the Bryant Baseball Complex. The Bulldogs, who won game one 6-5, improve to 22-19 and 14-5 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Seahawks fall to 17-22 and 11-8 in the NEC.
Bryant struck first for the third-straight game with two first-inning runs. Kevin Brown led off with a single before advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt. Jeff Vigurs made it 1-0 with a run-scoring single through the right side. Nick Campbell followed with a double while pushing Vigurs to third base. Dylan Stone upped the lead to 2-0 with a RBI ground out to third, scoring Vigurs.
Wagner immediately battled back with a pair of run in the top of the second inning. Senior
Vin Avella (Matawan, NJ / CBA) led off with a single before moving over to second when junior
Kevin McDonnell (Bristol, CT / Avon Old Farms) walked. The pair then executed a successful double steal, moving to second and third with no outs. Following a strikeout, junior
Brian Martutartus (Carlsbad, CA / La Costa Canyon) put the Green & White on the board with a run-scoring ground out, scoring Avella while advancing McDonnell to third. Junior
Jon Lucas (Hackettstown, NJ / Hackettstown) tied the game up at 2-2 with a first-pitch single to center field, bringing around McDonnell.
The Bulldogs went back in front in the bottom of the fourth inning, plating four runs on five hits while chasing Seahawk starter RHP
Mark Holmes (Manalapan, NJ / Manalapan). Stone led off with a single before Zakary Cianciolo doubled him over to third base. James Skagerlind followed with a run-scoring ground out, plating Stone while pushing Cianciolo to third. Tim Norton made it 4-2 with a run-scoring single. Following an out, Brown tripled for the second time this weekend, plating Norton and knocking out Holmes. Jordan English then greeted reliever
Christian Rautenstrauch (Fr., Charlotte, NC / Providence Day) with a RBI single to right field, extending the lead out to 6-2.
The Seahawks responded with a single run in the top of the fifth inning. Martutartus led off with his team-leading 12th double of the year before coming around to score on Lucas' second single of the game, cutting the deficit to 6-3. Unfortunately, Wagner would not be able to further dent the lead.
Following a scoreless sixth inning, the Seahawks mounted a two-out rally in the top of the seventh inning. Freshman
Hayden Hunter (Santa Monica, CA / Notre Dame) and senior
Damian Csakai (Freehold Township, NJ / Freehold Township) each singled before Bryant closer Mark Andrews induced an game-ending grounder for his NEC-best 10th save.
Lucas led an eight-hit offense, going 2-for-2 with two RBI while McDonnell extended his hitting streak to eight games.
Avella moved past former teammate
Matt Mastrianni on the all-time Wagner hit list into fourth place with his second-inning single and now has 203 for his career. Csakai became the all-time leader in games played, having seen action in 194 with Avella tied with former teammate
Chris Drechsel for second at 193.
Brown, Cianciolo, Norton and Vigurs all had two hits, leading the way for the Bulldogs, who recorded 11 hits in the game.
Salvatore Lisanti (2-4) picked up his second-straight win, striking out two while allowing three runs on five hits and a walk over 5.1 innings.
Holmes (1-2) was saddled with the loss, striking out one while allowing six runs on eight hits over 3.2 innings.
The teams will conclude the series tomorrow with a single game.