SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Marc Giacalone's bases-loaded triple in the top of the seventh inning put the Saint Joseph's baseball team ahead to stay on Sunday as the Hawks secured their third straight victory with a 6-5 triumph over Utah Valley at Stephen Scott Stadium.
With the Wolverines ahead 4-2 after six, the Hawks went to work on their third consecutive comeback win. After two quick outs, a walk to Matt Maul led to a pitching change. Garrett Bowman came on for UVU and gave up a single to Charlie Concannon and a walk to Dominic Cuoci to load the bases for Giacalone, who found the gap in right center and cleared the bases to give the Hawks a 5-4 lead. Taylor Boyd followed with his second RBI single of the day to push the lead to two.
Utah Valley (3-5) got one back on a sacrifice fly by Mark Krueger in the bottom of the seventh. The Wolverines threatened again in the eighth, but Jack Stover worked around a pair of singles to preserve the lead.
Brian Lau sent the Wolverines down in order in the ninth, fanning two, to earn his second save of the season. Lau locked down the win for freshman Tim Brennan, who allowed two earned runs on five hits and struck out five in six innings to win his collegiate debut.
Saint Joseph's (3-1) took the lead in the second, as Concannon led off with a single and came in on a double by Cuoci. Giacalone followed with a single before Boyd laced a single of his own to plate Cuoci and put the Hawks on top, 2-0. After a single by Peter Sitaras loaded the bases and chased Utah Valley starter Kaden Schmitt, Patrick Wolfe came on and induced a pair of force outs at home and notched a strikeout to escape the jam.
The Wolverines drew level in the fourth. Greyson Bogden led off the frame with a home run before a two-out error scored Krueger to tie the game.
Two innings later, a sacrifice fly and an error allowed the Wolverines to take the lead, setting up SJU's four-run outburst a half-inning later.
Boyd finished the day 4-for-5 with two RBI, while Concannon and Cuoci both scored a pair of runs. The Hawks rapped out double-digit hits for the third consecutive game, but left 12 on base as well. For the weekend, SJU scored 28 runs on 41 hits over the season's first four games.
The Hawks will return to the diamond on Friday, March 4, for the first of a three-game set at South Florida. First pitch in Tampa is set for 6:30 p.m.
