Salve Regina and Roger Williams split first two in best-of-three series

NEWPORT, R.I. (May 1, 2021) - Salve Regina University took a first step towards reaching its fifth straight Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) championship series with a 9-5 victory in Game One of a Pod A best-of-three series with Roger Williams. The Hawks forced a deciding game (first pitch noon on Sunday) with a 12-4 triumph in Game Two.

Game One Summary

Seahawk lefty starter Patrick Maybach (Saunderstown, R.I.) allowed single runs in each of the first three frames as Roger Williams (20-10) built a 3-1 lead before Salve Regina (11-4-1) began its comeback with a run in the third (on a balk) and three in the fifth. Freshman designated hitter Brandon Grover (Ashland, Mass.) slugged his first collegiate home run to put Salve Regina on the board in the bottom of the second. Anthony Cieszko (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) had an RBI single in the three-run fifth after two had scored on a throwing error. Zach Barlok (Cheshire, Conn.) led off the sixth with a blast down the left field line into the Seahawk bullpen. In the same frame, Dylan Ketch (Clinton, Conn.) drove in Matt D'Amato (Midland Park, Conn.) and Dustin Siqueira (Trumbull, Conn.) for an 8-3 lead.

For the Seahawks

• Matt D'Amato: 2-for-5, 3 RS
• Dylan Ketch: 3-for-4, SAC, SB, RS, 2 RBI
• Brandon Grover: 1-for-3, HR, RBI, 2 RS
• Zach Barlok: 3-for-3, HR, 2B, RS, RBI
• Patrick Maybach: (W, 2-0), 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 K

For the Hawks

• Joey Gulino: 1-for-3, 2B, SB, RS ... now 31-for-31 in stolen base attempts
• Jack Morin: 1-for-4, 2 RS
• Tyler Cedeno: 0-for-4, 2 RBI, SF

Game Two Summary

Brendan Jenkins (East Bridgewater, Mass.) had an RBI groundout in the bottom of the first to give the Hawks another 1-0 lead. Righty starter Ben Bonavita (East Longmeadow, Mass.) hit Dustin Siqueira (Trumbull, Conn.) with the bases loaded (two walks and another hit by pitch) to tie the score at 1-1 in the second. Jenkins then had the big blow with a three-run homer in the bottom half of the frame. He finished with seven runs batted in. Reliever Nick Harper (Westwood, N.J.) worked 4.2 innings from the second through the sixth allowing just one hit for the win.

For the Seahawks

• Brandon Grover: 2-for-2, 2 RBI, 2 BB
• Kyle Brown: 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H
• Eddie Hardiman: 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H

For the Hawks

• Tyler Cedeno: 0-for-4, 2 RBI, SF
• Brandon Jenkins: 2-for-4, HR, 7 RBI, RS, BB
• Ben Bonavita: 1-for-5, HR
• Nick Harper: (W, 1-0), 4.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H

The teams will meet in a deciding game three tomorrow at noon on Reynolds Field.