April 28, 2013

Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. - Collin Forgey had three hits, Brian O'Keefe hit a grand slam, and Jimmy Yacabonis tied the Saint Joseph's program record for saves in a season as the Hawk baseball team beat Massachusetts, 10-5, in the series finale at Earl Lorden Field on Sunday afternoon.

Saint Joseph's (22-20 overall, 9-6 Atlantic 10) scored first, tallying a run in the top of the second on a single by Anthony Cirillo and a double by Quinn Renner. SJU doubled its lead in the third as Chris Hueth's RBI double to left scored Stefan Kancylarz to make it a 2-0 game.

Massachusetts (10-24 overall, 4-11 Atlantic 10) tied the game up in the bottom of the fourth as Nik Campero and Jeff Cavanaro hit consecutive RBI singles to knot the game at two apiece.

A lead-off walk to O'Keefe and another double by Hueth to start the fifth chased UMass starter Jordan Pace from the ballgame; Greg Kumpel then greeted Ron Wallace with a three-run home run to left, his second of the season, to put the Hawks back on top, 5-2.

Cirillo hit a one-out double in the seventh and came around to score on an error to extend lead to four at 6-2.

The Minutemen answered in the bottom of the frame with three runs to cut the deficit to one. Back-to-back two-out singles by Ryan Cusick and Rich Graef put two on with two out for Rob McLam. Yacabonis entered the game in place of starter Daniel Thorpe and allowed a single to left that was misplayed, allowing McLam to end up on third and Cusick and Graef to score and trim the Hawk lead in half. A wild pitch then allowed McLam to score and make it a 6-5 game.

That score would not hold for long, however, as Forgey singled to start the eighth before Kancylarz and Mike Muha walked to load the bases for O'Keefe. His team-leading sixth home run of the year, his first career grand slam, gave the Hawks some breathing room and expanded the SJU lead to 10-5.

Yacabonis handled things from there, allowing two base runners on a walk and an error over the final two innings. The save, his seventh of the season, ties him with Hawk legend Kevin Kirkby for the program's single-season record; Kirkby set the record back in 2001.

Thorpe improved to 4-6 on the season, allowing four runs, three earned, and scattering 11 hits in six and two-thirds innings. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter. Jordan Pace took the loss for Massachusetts; he allowed four runs on seven hits and three walks to fall to 3-5.

Forgey finished 3-for-6 with a run scored, while O'Keefe scored twice and drove in four. Kumpel added three RBI as well, while Hueth, Cirillo, and Renner each contributed a pair of hits as the Hawks pounded out a dozen on the day.

Saint Joseph's will play its final non-conference game of the season on Tuesday at Rider. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m.