Bridgeport, CT - Sacred Heart (28-20; 20-9 NEC) rapped out 19 hits en route to a 12-7 win over Wagner (18-30; 12-17 NEC) in the first of four games at Harbor Yard. In defeat, the Seahawks are eliminated from Northeast Conference playoff contention for the first time since the 2007 season. 

The Green & White turned in a solid offensive performance as all nine regulars hit safely, led by senior Jon Lucas (Hackettstown, NJ / Hackettstown), junior Tommy Higgins (Port Monmouth, NJ / Red Bank Catholic) and sophomore Gaby Ramirez (San Juan, Puerto Rico / Perkiomen (PA)) as all three notched two hits on the day. Senior Kevin McDonnell (Bristol, CT / Avon Old Farms) also became the ninth member of the Wagner 200-hit club with this two-strike single to left field in the second inning.

The Pioneers jumped out to a 6-0 lead after four innings, thanks to a two-run first and a four-run fourth, before the Seahawks finally dented the scoreboard against RHP Troy Scribner in the top of the fifth inning.

Senior Jack Rice (Middlesex, NJ / Immaculata) led off single before Ramirez followed with this single  that moved Rice to third. After a strikeout, senior Seth Boyd (Perth Amboy, NJ / Perth Amboy) lined this two-run triple to right center, plating Rice and Ramirez. Junior Eddie Brown (Edison, NJ / St. Joseph's (Metuchen)) followed with this run-scoring single up the middle, scoring Boyd while slicing the deficit to 6-3.

The Green & White added another run in the top of the seventh inning with a two-out rally. Boyd was hit by a pitch before Brown drew a four-pitch walk. Lucas collected the two-out RBI with this single to right field on a 0-2 pitch, cutting the deficit to 6-4.

Sacred Heart responded in the bottom of the frame with two runs on a two-out, full-count single from Hunter Phillips to right field, extending the lead out to 8-4.

Wagner got one of those runs back in the top of the eighth inning when Ramirez plated McDonnell, who led off with a four-pitch walk, with this two-out run-scoring single up the middle. The Seahawks continued to threaten, loading up the bases with a Conforti HBP and a Boyd walk, but could not take advantage

The Pioneers put the game away with four runs in the bottom of the eighth in going ahead 12-5.

The Green & White got two runs back in the top of the ninth before falling 12-7.

Wagner drew a season-high 10 walks on the day and hit a respectable .353 (6-for-17) with runners in scoring position but stranded 13 runners while allowing Sacred Heart to hit a blistering .571 (8-for-14) with runners in scoring position.

The top seven Pioneers hitters all notched at least two hits, led by John Murphy, who went 4-for-5 with a pair of runs.

Scribner (8-2) struck out three while yielding three runs on 10 hits in collecting the win. Junior RHP Ryan Van Spronsen (Brantford, Ontario / Assumption College) was saddled with the loss, striking out two while allowing eight runs on 15 hits over 6.2 innings.

The teams resume their series tomorrow with a 12:00 pm doubleheader.