Pictured Above: Senior Anthony Pecora, who delivered what turned out to be the game-winning, three-run double in game one of Saturday's twinbill at Sacred Heart (Credit: Greg Fencik)
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Bridgeport, CT – With one out and the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning, senior 2B
Anthony Pecora delivered what turned out to be the game-winning hit, a base-clearing double that propelled Wagner to a 7-4 victory over Sacred Heart in game one of Saturday's doubleheader.
With the win, the Seahawks improve to 8-17 and 4-3 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play while the Pioneers move to 9-18 and are also 4-3 in league tilts.
Seahawk starter
Eric Ligda lasted seven innings, giving up three runs on 11 hits while walking one and striking out seven. Sophomore
Nick LePre (2-0), who came on for Ligda in the eighth, earned his second victory of the season. Junior closer,
Nick Robino, worked a 1-2-3 ninth in picking up his third save of the season.
Pecora, along with fellow classmate
Will Johnson, and junior
Freddy Sabido, each had two hits in the contest. Senior CF
Joe Silvestrone, Sabido, junior 1B
Tyler Sanfillippo and sophomore DH
Brandon Hall joined Pecora in driving in at least one RBI.
Isiah Daubon led the way for Sacred Heart with three hits, while Elijah Brown and Danny Glendon added two hits apiece. Brown, Jake Frasca, Glendon and Stephen Thibault drove in the Pioneers runs in game one. Baylor Sundahl (0-2) was saddled with the loss, going 1.1 frames while allowing four earned on three hits to go along with three walks and two strikeouts.
Wagner struck for the first run of the contest on the RBI sacrifice fly to right off-the-bat of Silvestrone, which brought in Pecora, who led off the contest with a double to left. Sacred Heart responded in the bottom of the inning as Brown laced an RBI single to right, scoring Joe Emerson.
The game remained tied until the top of the fourth when Wagner struck for two runs in retaking the lead at 3-1. Sabido led off with a single and moved into scoring position on a passed ball. Silvestrone walked before Johnson beat out an infield hit back to the pitcher to load the bases. Hall sent a one-out grounder up the first-base line that plated home Sabido. Sanfillippo then drove in the inning's second run on an RBI single to third, to make it 3-1.
The Pioneers tied the contest at 3-3 after scoring a run in each of the sixth and seventh innings. Brown led off the Pios sixth with double and scored on a RBI single from Glendon that made it 3-2. In the bottom of the seventh, Daubon roped a two-out double to left and scored on Frasca's double.
Sacred Heart took the lead in the bottom of the eighth as Thibault lofted a fly ball to center field, which allowed Alex Perry to cross the plate to give SHU what would prove to e brief 4-3 lead.
In the ninth, Hall walked and was lifted for a pinch-runner in sophomore
Emil Matti. Sanfillippo followed suit with a free pass to give the Seahawks the first two on with no outs. Junior
Eric Lauk, after being inserted as a pinch-hitter, was beaned on an errant pitch from Sundahl.
Following a strikeout of pinch-hitter
Ben Montenegro, Pecora was able to come through for the visitors, clearing the bases with his double, giving Wagner a 6-4 lead. Sabido tacked on the insurance run with a RBI single to left that made it 7-4.
Robino came on for LePre and proceeded to get the first two outs via strikeout before Daubon flew out to Silvestrone in center in preserving Wagner's fourth conference victory of the season.
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