Salve Regina sweeps Nichols with pair of one-run games, 3-2 and 6-5

SEAHAWK BASEBALL RESULTS
1. Salve Regina 3, Nichols 2 (11 innings)
2. Salve Regina 6, Nichols 5 (6 innings)
Reynolds Field - Newport, R.I.
Friday, April 13, 2018

Summary
NEWPORT, R.I. - Sophomore outfielder Dylan Ketch (Clinton, Conn.) went 5-for-7 at the plate and stole four bases as Salve Regina University swept Nichols College, 3-2 (11 innings) and 6-5 (6 innings), in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) baseball doubleheader at Reynolds Field. Salve Regina starting pitcher Patrick Maybach (Saunderstown, R.I.) worked 7.1 innings without allowing an earned run, but had been one strike away from a complete-game shutout before a single to right field by junior Joe Assenza (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the seventh of game one. Freshman Jeremy Lukasiewicz (West Nyack, N.Y.) pitched two shutout innings in relief and improved to 3-0 on the season when Michael DeFusco's (East Greenwich, R.I.) fielder's choice RBI grounder plated Christian Vargas (Melbourne, Fla.) from third with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Will Ginsberg (Sharon, Mass.) pitched 5.1 innings in the nightcap for his first victory of 2018 while Jonathan Lynch (Cumberland, R.I.) earned his second save of the season with the final two outs in the sixth inning and game two was called because of darkness.

Series and Streaks
Salve Regina leads the all-time series, 46-15, which includes sweeping the last two regular-season doubleheaders. The teams met in a postseason pod last year at Reynolds Field and the Seahawks eliminated the Bison with a 10-0 victory, after the Bison were 8-6 winners in an earlier game.

Three Seahawk Stars of the Day

1. Salve Regina sophomore Dylan Ketch (Clinton, Conn.) had five hits in seven at bats, stole four bases, scored two runs, and drove in another with a double.
2. Salve Regina sophomore Patrick Maybach (Saunderstown, R.I.) struck out seven and allowed just five hits in 7.1 innings.
3. Salve Regina senior Christian Vargas (Melbourne, Fla.) caught all 17 innings and had a basehit in each game. He led off the bottom of the 11th with a sharp single past third base and eventually scored the winning run. In game two, he was the middle of three successive Seahawks with doubles - Ketch and Dustin Siqueira (pronounced Si-KAY-duh) (Trumbull, Conn.) - as he drove in Ketch with a run and scored on Siqueira's two-bagger.

Key Stat of the Games
Salve Regina left 10 men on base in the opener and 14 for the day.

Turning Point
After their walk-off 3-2 win in extra innings of game one, the Seahawks struck quickly for a run in the bottom of the first of game two. Zack Smith (New Canaan, Conn.) singled in DeFusco. The Seahawks had a three-run fourth, highlighed by three successive doubles (Ketch, Vargas, and Siqueira), but the Bison scored four runs on three hits and two walks in their fifth frame. Smith hit his second homerun of the season to put Salve Regina up 6-4, and Ginsberg/Lynch held the visitors to one run before closing out the sixth and final inning.

Quick Hits

• Today's doubleheader had moved three times from its original date (March 24 to April 2 to April 16), the last one because of Monday's anticipated forecast.
• Nick Roy added to his team high stolen base total with three swipes (17).
• Salve Regina matches its longest win streak (three) of the season.

Next Up
Salve Regina (11-10, 3-3 CCC) hosts Eastern Nazarene College as the "away" team at Reynolds Field tomorrow on Senior Day for nine Seahawks - Sam Brito (Lincoln, R.I.), Jimmy Fitzgerald (Canton, Mass.), Dylan Jepsen (Sutton, Mass.), Jonathan Lynch (Cumberland, R.I.), John Militano (Miller Place, N.Y.), Josh Monson (Bridgewater, Mass.), Alex Perry (North Attleboro, Mass.), Tommy Seaver (Rocky Hill, Conn.), and Christian Vargas (Melbourne, Mass.). Nichols (7-18, 1-3 CCC), which lost a 14-inning game at Roger Williams last Sunday, plays at Gordon College tomorrow.