Hartford, Conn. – Sophomore LHP Jed Robinson (Winchester, Mass.) and senior captain RHP David O'Brien (Fairfield, Conn.) combined on a six-hitter to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 4-2 victory over the visiting Western Connecticut State University Colonials in baseball action this afternoon. Trinity improves to 11-16 with its second win in a row, while the Colonials fall to 13-13 with their fourth consecutive setback.
Robinson went seven innings and allowed two runs on five hits with two walks and four K's to improve to 3-2, before yielding to O'Brien who allowed just a ninth-inning single over two frames to collect his second save. Western Connecticut rookie reliever Joe Costa (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) kept Trinity scoreless for 5.1 innings, after the Bantams had jumped on Colonial sophomore starter Josh Zurita (New London, Conn.) for four runs in the fourth. Costa entered the game with two outs in the third inning, after senior Luke Altieri (Milford, Conn.) had loaded the bases on walks, and got the third out on a soft liner to second base. Costa did not strike out a batter but allowed just two hits and one free pass.
Trinity freshman OF Nick Pezzella (Worcester, Mass.) started the bottom of the first inning with a single, followed by a ground out and a walk by sophomore 3B Dan Pidgeon (Darien, Conn.), setting junior 1B Bryan Wolfe (La Habra Heights, Calif.) for a two-run double to left field. Junior Carson Kenney (Kensington, Md.) was hit by a pitch, rookie C Colton Dana (Marblehead, Mass.) singled home Wolfe, and Kenney scored the last Trinity run on a fielder's choice. Freshman SS E.J. Lavoie (East Granby, Conn.) led off the second frame with a single, stole two bases, and scored the first Western Connecticut run on a sacrifice fly to left field by senior OF John Fracker (Newtown, Conn.). Trinity junior OF Evan Abraham's (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) throw to the plate beat the runner, but Lavoie avoided Dana's tag to the inside with a head-first slide.
A walk by Western Connecticut senior co-captain Bobby Coyne (Clinton, Conn.) and an RBI double by junior 1B Alex Iglesias (Mohegan Lake, N.Y.) cut the Trinity lead in half at 4-2 in the sixth inning, but Robinson and O'Brien allowed just a single base runner the rest of the way. Pezzella singled, stole second base, and reached third on a wild pitch in the sixth frame, but the Bantams could not push the insurance run across. Pezzella finished 2-for-3 with two walks and three steals, while Coyne and Lavoie were both 2-for-4 at the plate, and Lavoie added three steals for Western Connecticut.