DARTMOUTH, Mass. – After going 7-for-10 in three games last week, senior third baseman Luke Broadhurst (Stafford) continued to swing a hot bat during Saturday afternoon's Little East Conference doubleheader against UMass Dartmouth at UMD Baseball Park. Going 6-for-9 with a grand slam in game one, five total RBIs, four runs scored, a stolen base, and 10 total bases, the bat of Broadhurst led the way for the Warriors (18-2, 6-0 LEC) to a sweep over the Corsairs (10-10, 1-3 LEC) by final scores of 16-0 and 13-6.
After being named to the D3Baseball.com Team of the Week, the NCBWA Hitter of the Week, and earning Little East Conference Player of the Week honors last week, another strong week of performances could mean more accolades for the senior third baseman. In three games this week, Broadhurst went 8-for-13 (.615) with a home run, a double, six RBIs, seven runs scored, and three stolen bases while raising his batting average to .414 on the season.
Equally as impressive was the starting pitching performances by junior right-hander Billy Oldham (Brookfield) and senior right-hander Bryan Albee (Killingly). Spinning a seven-inning complete game in game one, Oldham earned his fifth win of the season with a three-hit shutout while striking out 10 batters. It was the fourth start this season in which the right-hander has struck out 10 or more batters in a start.
Eastern Conn. 16, UMass Dartmouth 0 (7 Inn.)
Putting up a seven-run second inning, the Warriors jumped all over junior right-handed starter Ryan Qualey to take control early and never look back. After a first-inning error allowed Eastern to pull in front 1-0, a sacrifice fly, passed ball, and double steal contributed to three of the Warrior runs in the second inning of play. An RBI single by Broadhurst, RBI double by graduate outfielder John Mesagno (Tappan, NY), and two-RBI single by graduate first baseman Josh Tower (Auburn, MA) put Eastern ahead 8-0 after two while ending Qualey's day on the mound.
Capping off his five-RBI game one performance, a sixth inning home run by Broadhurst, his seventh of the season and fifth in the last five games highlighted a six-run frame for the Warriors. Senior second baseman Noah Plantamuro (Bristol) plated another run and a walk issued to junior shortstop Zach Donahue (South Windsor) continued the scoring for Eastern who pulled ahead 15-0.
An RBI single by Tower in the seventh inning pushed the Warriors to their 16-0 final in seven innings. The first baseman finished game one having gone 4-for-5 with four singles, three RBIs, and one run scored. Driving in five RBIs, Broadhurst ended game one going 3-for-5 with a grand slam, two singles, two runs scored and one stolen base.
Eastern showed off their baserunning abilities in game one, manufacturing five total stolen bases in the victory from four different players. Broadhurst currently leads the team with eight stolen bases in eight attempts with Donahue and sophomore outfielder Jason Claiborn (Prospect) close behind at six. The only other Warrior to be perfect at swiping bases with multiple base stealing attempts is senior catcher Matt Malcom (East Lyme) who is 5-for-5, including his one stolen bag in game one.
Eastern Conn. 13, UMass Dartmouth 6
Taking advantage of five errors committed by UMass Dartmouth in the second game of the Saturday afternoon twin bill, Eastern used an RBI triple by senior outfielder Ryan Bagdasarian (Glastonbury), the first Corsair error of the game, and an RBI single by senior outfielder Jack Rich (Meriden) to take a quick 3-0 lead in the opening frame.
Providing the next two Warrior runs, a third-inning double and fifth-inning single by Malcom helped push Eastern's lead to five. Three more runs would be plated by a Mesagno double and two-RBI single from Plantamuro in the seventh inning to make it 8-0 in favor of the Warriors before UMass Dartmouth manufactured their first run of the doubleheader.
After being shutout for 13 innings, junior outfielder Andrew Bryant led off the seventh inning with a solo home run off Albee to make it 8-1. Running into some trouble later on in the inning, Albee would exit after 6 1/3 innings having given up one run on three hits with one strikeout and three walks on 79 pitches. The right-hander has given up just three earned runs in 32 2/3 innings this season while striking out 32 batters and walking only nine.
Three of Eastern's last five runs came via errors and a wild pitch while Donahue provided a sacrifice fly and sophomore outfielder Alejandro Soriano's (Hartford) RBI single provided the last of the Warrior offense which put up 29 total runs in the doubleheader. UMass Dartmouth would plate five runs in the bottom of the ninth on singles from sophomore shortstop Andrew Possi, senior catcher Zak Souza, first-year outfielder Scott Cromack, and first-year infielder Devyn Vezina as Eastern prevailed 13-6 for the sweep.
Reaching base safely in both games of the doubleheader, John Mesagno surpassed former All-America outfielder Alex Zachary for second-longest on-base streak in program history. Mesagno has now reached base safely in 38 consecutive games and now looks to chase down the longest streak in program history set by Joe Funaro during the 1994-1995 seasons.
Zach Donahue continues to find his way onto the bases for the Warriors. The junior has now reached base safely in 17 consecutive games while successfully getting on base in all 20 games he has appeared in. During the third game of the season against St. Mary's (MD), Donahue reached base by way of an error.
After concluding their road trip with a 5-0 record, Eastern returns home for three mid-week games starting with a Little East Conference matchup against Western Connecticut State University on Tuesday afternoon at Eastern Baseball Stadium. First pitch is slated for 4:00 PM. The Warriors have won 11 consecutive games against WestConn and have put up double-digit run totals against their conference rival in each of the last five matchups.