DUDLEY, Mass. – The Nichols College baseball team was swept by visiting Salve Regina, 4-3 and 12-4, in a Commonwealth Coast Conference doubleheader on Saturday at the Nichols Baseball Field.
Sophomore Joe Haley (North Kingstown, R.I.) was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate to go along with a walk while freshman Ryan Kelly (Waldwick, N.J.) and junior Dominic Di Sano (Central Falls, R.I.) each batted 2-for-4 as the Seahawks (16-7, 6-2 CCC) edged the Bison (4-20, 1-7 CCC) in game one.
Junior Tyler Colby (Easton, Conn.) drew a two-out walk and later scampered home on a passed ball to give the guests the 1-0 lead after half an inning. Nichols responded with two in the home half of the frame to take the 2-1 lead. Senior John Micciche (Holbrook, Mass.) singled through the right side to deliver the first Bison tally and freshman Brady Boisvert (Plainfield, N.H.) crossed home plate on a fielder's choice put into play by senior Anthony Benvenuti (North Haven, Conn.).
The game settled down in the second as junior Tyler Shute (Mashpee, Mass.) retired the side in order as he induced a fly out to right and struck out a pair of batters. Salve Regina looked to take the lead in the third but a grounder to third base left three Seahawks on base.
Nichols held the 2-1 advantage until the top of the sixth inning. Kelly used a two-RBI single to push the Seahawks in front 3-2. One batter later, sophomore Sean Becker (Richmond, Va.) made it a 4-2 ballgame with a run-producing single up the middle. The hosts grabbed a run back in the bottom of the frame on an RBI hit to left by junior Shayne McNally (Auburn, Mass.). The bison stranded a total of three runners down the stretch to Salve Regina's one.
Sophomore Gabe Cretella (Seymour, Conn.) earned the victory (4-0) as he allowed two runs on three hits and struck out six over five innings of work. Freshmen Branden Hoxsie (Warwick, R.I.) and Mike Schuermann (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) along with junior Kevin Lambert (Fairfield, Conn.) all made appearances on the mound while Lambert also picked up the save. Shute (0-5) surrendered four runs – zero earned – on nine hits and struck out five in his 12th career complete game for the Bison.
Nichols struck first in game two as McNally connected on a two-out run-producing double to right center. Salve Regina then took the 2-1 lead in the second courtesy of an RBI double to left center by freshman Ryan Sweenor (South Kingstown, R.I.) and an RBI ground out by junior Nicholas Dell'Anno (Reading, Mass.).
Salve Regina extended its lead in the third with a four-run outburst. Colby hit into a fielder's choice to help plate one run and Haley singled through the right side as another runner crossed home plate. Sweenor later doubled to right center and Dell'Anno sent the ball to left center as each drove in a run for the Seahawks.
Each side plated a run in the fourth as Kelly scored on an infield throw and Nichols senior Kyle Russell (West Yarmouth, Mass.) singled up the middle for an RBI. After a scoreless fifth, Salve Regina tacked on another tally as Colby lifted a sacrifice fly to right. Nichols chipped away at the lead with a pair of scores in the bottom of the stanza. Sophomore Evan Thompson (Longmeadow, Mass.) scampered home on a muffed throw and Boisvert plated senior captain Bryan Gill (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) on a single to center field.
After the Bison left the bases loaded in the sixth, the Seahawks, highlighted by a first-pitch home run to dead center field by Di Sano and a two-RBI single by Becker, scored four times in the seventh for the 12-4 final.
Freshman Sean Healy (Wakefield, R.I.) improved to 3-0 as he allowed four runs – three earned – on 10 hits and fanned four batters over five and two-thirds innings. Sophomore Salvatore Cumella (Ridgefield, N.J.) faced one batter and rookie Alex Croce (Rumford, R.I.) accounted for the final one and a third.
Six different Bison saw time on the hill as rookie Ryan McLane (Wallingford, Conn.) surrendered six runs – four earned – in the first three frames as he slipped to 1-3. Seniors Ray Curto (Braintree, Mass.) and James Curto (Braintree, Mass.) as well as sophomore Chris Johnson (Mansfield, Mass.) each tossed an inning while freshman Ryan Pichel (Littleton, Mass.) and junior Nick Croteau (Framingham, Mass.) combined efforts in the seventh.
Gill paced the Bison in game two as he delivered two hits in four at-bats as eight others recorded a hit for the home team.
Sweenor went 4-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored to go along with a pair of hits by Kelly and Dominic Di Sano. Becker, Colby and Dell'Anno joined Sweenor with a pair of RBI while Kelly (four), Sweenor (three) and Di Sano (two) each crossed home plate multiple times.
Nichols hosts Gordon for a 3:00 p.m. Patriots Day CCC doubleheader on Monday. Salve Regina heads to Roger Williams for an intra-state CCC twinbill tomorrow at 12:00 p.m.