Kelly, Vargas, Perry power Seahawks to CCC win over Colonels, 10-2

NEWPORT, R.I. - Playing for the first time on its home field in 2015, Salve Regina University baseball was the "away" team hosting Curry College, but felt right at home on Reynolds Field with a 10-2 victory in the first of two scheduled Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) contests. Second game was halted due to rain after the Seahawks had pulled ahead, 2-1, in their top of the third inning; it will be resumed, or re-started, at a date to be announced and perhaps site to return to home of the Colonels in Milton, Mass.

With the victory, Salve Regina pulls even to .500 overall (7-7) and wins its first CCC game of the season (1-2). The Seahawks will face Eastern Nazarene on Monday in another CCC twinbill after the Easter break.

The Colonels played in their first action in three weeks since returning from a Florida trip; they are now 6-5 overall and 0-1 in the conference. Curry will travel to Keene State on Tuesday.

The visiting Seahawks scored first in the top of the second. Colonels' starter Vincent LoPriore (Boston, Mass.), who brought a 2-0 record into the outing, retired the first four Seahawks he faced before issuing a one-out walk in the second to Daniel Donohue (Westbury, N.Y.). Cory Blankmeyer (Centerport, N.Y.) followed with the game's first basehit, to right center, and Alek Kucich (Old Brookville, N.Y.) delivered an RBI single to right field.

In the home half of the second, leadoff batter Matt Warren (Wilbraham, Mass.) reached on an error before freshman Evan Morris (Pembroke, Mass.) reached a Kyle Pheland (No. Scituate, R.I.) offering and drove it over the left field fence for a two-run homer and a one-run Colonel lead.

Salve Regina immediately tied the game in its next at bat as Ryan Kelly (Waldwick, N.J.) led off with a triple to right center and came home on a ground out to the right side by freshman John Militano (Miller Place, N.Y.).

LoPriore issued three bases on balls to the Seahawks in 3.1 innings pitched, and all three came around to score. Blankmeyer led off the fourth with a walk and, one out later, freshman catcher Christian Vargas (Melbourne, Fla.) drove his second home run in as many days over the fence in left center to the right of the scoreboard, putting the Seahawks ahead, 4-2, as the visitors.

LoPriore left after walking Hunter Sleeper (Arlington, Mass.) and new pitcher Alex McLean (Eliot, Maine) was greeted by Ryan Kelly who deposited his second pitch over the left field fence for a two-run homer. It was Kelly's team-leading third round-tripper of the season as he also homered Thursday in Salve Regina's 17-4 win against Eastern Connecticut State.

Seahawks scored four more times in the sixth as Vargas led off with a single, and came home on a Kelly single to right that was misplayed and left the speedy junior on third base. Militano's grounder to the right side was fielded by Colonel first baseman Philip Perez (West Covina, Calif.) who froze Kelly at third before reaching to tag Militano on the first base line.

With two outs, Kelly stole home to boost the lead to 8-2, and prompting McLean to hit next batter Joe Haley (No. Kingstown, R.I.) with a pitch. Freshman infielder Alex Perry (No. Attleboro, Mass.) made McLean pay for that retaliation with an opposite field two-run homer.

Pheland worked four full innings allowing just five hits and two runs, one earned, while striking out three Colonels for his second victory in four starts (2-1). John McDermott (Bedford, N.Y.) and Sean Healy (Wakefield, R.I.) pitched very well in relief for the final three innings. Healy struck out all three Colonels he faced in the bottom of the seventh.

Kelly finished with three hits in game one (triple, homerun, and single) before doubling in game two. He won't get credit for hitting the cycle (one of each type of basehit), and the second game of the CCC doubleheader may have to be re-started which would wipe out all of the stats accumulated by any player.