Four-run fifth propels Seahawks to victory

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. - Sophomore Matt Conroy's (Philadelphia, Pa.) two-run single highlighted a decisive four-run fifth inning rally as Salve Regina held off a late comeback bid to notch an 8-7 non-league college baseball victory over Massachusetts Maritime Tuesday afternoon at Commodore Hendy Field.

The visiting Seahawks (16-6) plated single runs in each of their first three at-bats on an error and sacrifice flies off the bats of junior Tyler Colby (Easton, Conn.) and freshman Ryan Sweenor (South Kingstown, R.I.), but the host Buccaneers (5-10) used a three-run uprising in the fourth to even matters, as an RBI single by senior Aram Mulhern (Taunton, Mass.) got Massachusetts Maritime on the board and fellow senior Zachary Sullivan's (Barnstable, Mass.) two-out, two-run single tied the score.

Salve Regina took the lead for good in the decisive fifth frame, as Conroy's two-run safety was sandwiched between a balk and an error, but the hosts sliced that margin back to three in the seventh on a two-out error. Junior Dominic Di Sano (Central Falls, R.I.) plated what proved to be an important insurance tally for the Seahawks in the eighth on a sacrifice fly, as the Buccaneers took advantage of a two-out, two-run error in the bottom of the ninth that was followed by freshman Jake Petruzzelli's (Abington, Mass.) RBI single to close to within one, but a game-ending groundout ended the comeback threat.

Sweenor, junior Anthony Conte (Georgetown, Mass.) and sophomore Joe Haley (North Kingstown, R.I.) each collected two hits as a part of a 10-hit attack in the victory for Salve Regina, as sophomore Gabe Cretella (Seymour, Conn.) improved to 3-0 on the mound for the Seahawks by fanning five in 2 2/3 innings in relief of freshman Alex Croce (Rumford, R.I.), who struck out a pair over the first 4 1/3 frames. Junior Kevin Lambert (Fairfield, Conn.) came on the get the final out of the contest to earn his third save for the visitors, who have now won six of their last seven.

Mulhern rapped out three of Massachusetts Maritime's 10 hits in the setback, as senior Tyler Genereux (Duxbury, Mass.) added a pair of singles and junior Bob Lee (Braintree, Mass.) collected two doubles. Freshman Joshua Bergeron (Providence, R.I.) fell to 0-2 on the mound for the Buccaneers in allowing three earned runs and striking out three in two innings of relief work, as sophomore Tyler Smith (Bellingham, Mass.) went the first three frames for the hosts and struck out one. 

Massachusetts Maritime hosts Wentworth in a non-league outing on Thursday afternoon at Commodore Hendy Field beginning at 3 p.m., while Salve Regina hosts UMass Dartmouth in a non-league contest on Wednesday evening at Cardines Field in Newport, R.I. beginning at 6 p.m.