Seahawks sweep Lions on Senior Day, 6-3 and 11-4

SEAHAWK BASEBALL RESULTS
1. Salve Regina 6, Eastern Nazarene 3
2. Salve Regina 11, Eastern Nazarene 4
Reynolds Field - Newport, Rhode Island
Saturday, April 14, 2018

Summary
NEWPORT, R.I. - Senior Alex Perry (No. Attleboro, Mass.) and junior Colton Eremian (Boca Raton, Fla.) both hit a pair of home runs (one in each game) as Salve Regina University baseball swept Eastern Nazarene College, 6-3 and 11-4, in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at Reynolds Field. Perry's fifth homer of the year (and 21st of his career) gave the Seahawks a 3-0 lead in the top of the third of game one; Salve Regina batted as the "away" team in both contests. After the Lions tied the score with a run in the fourth and two in the fifth, Eremian launched his first homer of 2018 into the Seahawk bullpen in left field for a 6-3 advantage.

Eastern Nazarene crossed the plate first in game two, but Eremian's second homer of the day put Salve Regina on top, 2-1, in the top of the fourth. Michael DeFusco (East Greenwich, R.I.) led off the Seahawk fifth with a double and moved up two bases on back-to-back outfield outs by Perry and designated hitter Zack Smith (New Canaan, Conn.) who got the RBI with his sacrifice fly. A two-run single in the bottom of the fifth by Dylan Louviaux tied the score for Eastern Nazarene, 3-3. With two outs in the sixth, Salve Regina left fielder Dustin Siqueira (Trumbull, Conn.) laid down a bunt single and navigated all the way around the bases for the go ahead run thanks to two Lions throwing errors. Anthony Cieszko (Woodcliff Lake, N.J.) singled to right, stole second, and came home on John Militano's (Miller Place, N.Y.) double to left center. Militano scored on DeFusco's single to left for a 6-3 lead. After Eastern Nazarene got one run back in the bottom of the sixth, Perry led off the top of the seventh with a mammoth home run into the parking lot beyond left field. Christian Vargas (Melbourne, Fla.) walked with the bases loaded to make it an 8-4 Seahawk lead, then pinch hitter Sam Brito (Lincoln, R.I.) had a sacrifice fly to right, and Militano completed the scoring with a two-run single through the right side. Dylan Jepsen (Sutton, Mass.) faced the final two Lions and got both out to finish the 11-4 victory.

Series and Streaks
Salve Regina improves to 41-11 all-time versus Eastern Nazarene in baseball, including winning the last five meetings with the Lions. The Seahawks also have a season-long five-game win streak which includes four in row against CCC competition.

Three Seahawk Stars of the Day

1. Salve Regina senior Alex Perry (No. Attleboro, Mass.) belted two homeruns to raise his career total to 22, third on the school's all-time list behind only Ryan Holleran '03 (24) and Daryl Murtha '04 (26). Perry leads the league with six on the season.
2. Salve Regina junior Colton Eremian (Boca Raton, Fla.) also belted two homeruns, his first two of the season, and both gave the Seahawks the lead.
3. Salve Regina sophomore Zach Dionne (Tolland, Conn.) earned his first pitching victory of the season working 5.1 innings and striking out 11 Lions.

Key Stat of the Games
Salve Regina turned a pair of double plays in the opener, including the last play of the game, 4-6-3 Militano-Cieszko-Perry).

Quick Hits

• John Militano had four hits and three runs batted in during the two games.
• Seahawks had just five hits in the opener and no one had more than one; each of the first six batters in the lineup scored one run, crossing the plate on the Perry and Eremian HRs.
• Devin Haberstumpf started at third base in both games before pitching an inning of relief in game two. It was his tough luck to give up the bunt single to Dustin Siqueira before the freshman got a free trip around the base paths for the go ahead run.

Next Up
Foul weather fouls up the schedules of both the Lions and Seahawks. Salve Regina (13-10, 5-3 CCC) hosts Worcester State on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.; Eastern Nazarene will be home against Lasell.