Hawks silence Seahawks' bats, sweep CCC twinbill

NEWPORT, R.I. - After scoring 25 runs in its previous 25 innings, Salve Regina University baseball managed just two runs in 14 innings while suffering a doubleheader sweep at the hands, er, pitching arms, of visiting Roger Williams University. The Hawks won game one, 4-0, and never trailed in game two, 6-2, to improve to 7-14 overall and 4-4 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC).

The Seahawks end their six-game win streak and fall to 11-9 overall and 3-4 in CCC action. Both teams host league twinbills on Sunday with Salve Regina returning to Reynolds Field to face Wentworth Institute of Technology and Roger Williams returning to Bristol, R.I., to host Curry College (both start at noon).

Hawks' starter Tyler Campo (Wrentham, Mass.), who entered the game as the league leader in strikeouts (35), added 10 to his season total while picking up his second victory (2-3) in a three-hitter.

First inning of game one, Matt Moskal (Hamden, Conn.) doubled down the left-field line with one out. Shortstop Kevin Baker (Wilbraham, Mass.) drove in the game's first run with a long single to right field, tripping on first base to prevent an extra base. Reid Nelson (Wallingford, Conn.) made it a 2-0 score before the Seahawks came to the plate with his RBI double to left center.

Seahawk starter Kyle Pheland (No. Scituate, R.I.) settled down to record 15 outs without allowing a run.

Meanwhile, Salve Regina's Alex Perry (No. Attleboro, Mass.) and Alek Kucich (Old Brookville, N.Y.) led off the home half of the second with consecutive singles. Daniel Donohue (Westbury, N.Y.) executed a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third. Campo got the next two Seahawks on strikes to end the threat.

Salve Regina's only other hit off Campo was a flare single to left field from Donohue with two outs in the fourth.

With two outs in the sixth, Nelson reached on an error before designated hitter Shawn Carglio (Milford, Conn.) singled to center. Catcher Chris Travers (East Freetown, Mass.) doubled down the left-field line to bring home two unearned runs for the 4-0 lead.

Campo retired the final 10 Seahawks he faced including five on strikes.

Travers had the first hit of game two, a two-out single in the second, but was stranded at first by Seaahawk starter Cole Tretter (East Lyme, Conn.) who faced just seven batters in the first two innings. Shane Nowak (Litchfield, N.H.) led off the third with a double and moved to third base on a fly ball to right. To the top of the order, freshman Sean Gaffney (Simsbury, Conn.) blooped a single just out of reach of shortstop Donohue diving on the outfield grass, Nowak had to hold at third.

Moskal's grounder to third was fielded by Seahawk senior captain Joe Haley (No. Kingstown, R.I.) who dove to the bag attempting to tag Nowak retreating. Umpires ruled safe to load the bases with one out. Baker reached on a fielder's choice to drive in one run; another scored on a throwing error to make the score 2-0.

Salve Regina cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the third when freshman outfielder John Militano (Miller Place, N.Y.) went to the opposite field for an RBI single that plated Hunter Sleeper (Arlington, Mass.) after two were out.

Tretter issued a hit batsman and base on balls to the first two Hawks he faced in the fourth and was lifted for reliever Jimmy Fitzgerald (Canton, Mass.). The freshman lefty got a pop up to short right on his first pitch with no runner advancement. Nowak's grounder to Sleeper at second moved the runners up a base with two outs, before Caulin Rogers (Gloucester, Mass.) collected two RBI with a bloop single to center on a 3-2 pitch.

Moskal led off the fifth with a double and later scored the fifth Hawks' run on a single by Bryan Terzian (Westport, Conn.). Roger Williams scored an unearned run in the sixth (Seahawks made three errors in game two).

Two different relievers followed Hawks' starter Jimmy Smith (Walpole, Mass.), including Jimmy Hamilton (Schenectady, N.Y.) who came in after a leadoff walk to Perry to open the sixth.

Salve Regina's Ryan Kelly (Waldwick, N.J.) launched a solo homer with two outs in the seventh for the final score, 6-2. Smith earned his first win in 2015 (1-3) with his four innings of work.