MERION STATION, Pa. – The Saint Joseph's baseball team got a little bit of everything out of the squad in a doubleheader sweep of Fordham on Saturday afternoon. In the opener, the Hawks turned in a 12-run inning en route to a blowout victory before
Domenic Picone kept the Rams off the scoreboard for eight innings to secure the win in the nightcap.
GAME 1: Saint Joseph's 23, Fordham 10
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Fordham (16-28 overall, 4-11 Atlantic 10) took the lead in the top of the first on a three-run home run by Zach Selinger; the Hawks answered with a run in the bottom of the frame on an infield single by
Ryan Weingartner.
• SJU went ahead in the fourth as
Brett Callahan tied the game with a two-run double before
Ryan Cesarini hit a two-run double two batters later to give the Hawks a 5-3 lead.
Luca Trigiani then pushed the lead to 7-3 with a two-run home run in the third.
• The Rams replied with a six-run inning to chase starter
Ryan DeSanto, sending 11 batters to the plate and taking a 9-7 lead in the fourth.
• The Hawks responded – and then some – in the bottom of the frame, sending 17 batters to the plate and putting a dozen runs on the board. Cesarini beat out an infield single to start the frame before a Weingartner single, a
Justin Igoe RBI double, and a
Ryan Picollo RBI single tied the game at 9-9.
• After a wild pitch brought home the tying run, a walk to
Brandon Drapeau sent Fordham starter Austin Sachen to the showers.
Max Hitman then walked to load the bases before Trigiani drew a free pass to force in another run. Callahan would follow with a two-run single to make it a 13-9 game.
•
Conlan Wall notched an RBI single of his own, as did Cesarini and Weingartner, to extend the advantage to 16-9. All told, the first 11 batters of the inning all reached base in the fourth.
• Drapeau then went deep for a three-run home run in his second plate appearance of the inning to give the Hawks a 10-run cushion heading to the fifth.
• Nico Boza hit a one-out solo home run in the top of the fifth to make it a 19-10 game, but that would be it for the Rams as
Mike Falco settled things down on the mound for the Hawks. SJU would score three times in the seventh on a double play grounder by Igoe and a two-run home run by Picollo before Trigiani hit his second longball of the game in the eighth to set the final margin.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Falco was credited with the win after tossing four and a third innings of shutout ball. He did not allow a hit and struck out five to improve to 2-0 on the season. Sachen took the loss after being charged with 12 runs on 12 hits in three-plus innings.
• The 23 runs are a season high for the Hawks; SJU also pounded out a season-best 22 hits.
• Trigiani was 4-for-4 in the game with a pair of walks, while Cesarini went 4-for-6. Trigiani and Callahan both drove in four runs apiece, while Cesarini, Picollo, and Drapeau added three RBI each. Trigiani capped off his performance with four runs scored, while Callahan, Drapeau, and Hitman all crossed the plate three times.
• Each Hawk in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit and reached base at least twice in the game.
GAME 2: Saint Joseph's 7, Fordham 1
HOW IT HAPPENED
• This time, it was Saint Joseph's (19-19-1 overall, 10-5 Atlantic 10) that took a first-inning lead as a hit batsman and a pair of walks loaded the bases for Igoe, whose groundout scored
Conlan Wall to put the Hawks on the board.
• Picollo followed with a two-run single before
Luke Zimmerman doubled home another run to give the Crimson and Gray a 4-0 lead.
• That would be more than enough for Picone, who allowed a pair of singles in the second but erased one of the runners on a double play before retiring the next 14 batters he faced.
• In the intervening, Cesarini added a sacrifice fly in the second before a double by Callahan in the fourth made it a 6-0 game.
• Cesarini then hit an RBI double of his own for a 7-0 advantage after six.
• Fordham nearly broke up the shutout in the top of the eighth after Zach Selinger singled to start the inning and went to third on a passed ball and a wild pitch. After the next batter popped up to Picone in front of the mound, Sebastian Mexico hit what appeared to be a sure sac fly to right center field; Picollo had other ideas, however, firing a strike to Igoe at the plate to double up Selinger and preserve the clean sheet for the time being.
• The Rams would get a consolation run in the ninth on a hit batsman with the bases loaded.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• On a day that saw the Hawks score 30 runs, Picone's effort on the mound was the most dominant performance of all. He scattered four hits and did not walk a batter while striking out seven in eight outstanding innings to improve to 3-5. Ryan Egan got the start for Fordham and allowed five runs on just two hits and four walks in two innings to take the loss.
• Callahan had two hits to lead the Hawk offense, while Cesarini and Picollo drove in a pair of runs and Trigiani scored twice.
• The win runs the Hawks' unbeaten streak to eight consecutive games, a season best.
UP NEXT
Saint Joseph's hosts Villanova on Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.
