AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Matt Kroll (Tewksbury, N.J.) blasted a two-run home run as a part of a seven-run top of the first by the Roger Williams University Baseball team, and they made that advantage stand on their way to a 10-8 win over William Paterson University at the Russmatt Baseball Complex on Tuesday evening. All nine members of the Hawks starting lineup came around to score a run in the contest while Ben Bonavita (East Longmeadow, Mass.) battled through six strong innings on the mound in the win.

With the victory, the Hawks improve to 6-0 to start the campaign, good for their best start in program history, while they have also matched their longest winning streak from last season. The Pioneers, meanwhile, fall to 8-4 on the year.

RWU sent 12 men to the plate in the opening frame, and after the leadoff man was retired, the next nine batters reached base safely by way of three walks, a hit batsman, and five hits, four of which were for extra bases and in the process they built a big lead.

In his first start on the mound this season, Bonavita earned the win by going the first six innings which is good for the longest outing of the season by a Roger Williams starter. He ended up allowing five runs, all earned, on six hits, two walks, and two hit batsmen while striking out four. Adam Harz (Manchester, Conn.) recorded the final five outs of the contest to lock down his first save of the season. The Pioneers handed the ball to Dan Carter (Bloomfield, N.J.) and he only managed to retire a single batter as he allowed seven runs, all earned, on five hits, three walks, and plunked one batter.

Hawk Highlights

Christopher Flynn: 2-for-3, 3B, HR, BB, 3 RBI, RS

Jack Morin: 2-for-5, 2 RBI, RS

Matt Kroll: 1-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, RS

Tyler Cedeno: 2-for-6, 2B, RBI, RS

Ben Bonavita: (W, 1-0), 6.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Adam Harz: (SV, 1), 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

For The Opponents

Justin Grippo: 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, RS

Jake Lutz: 1-for-4, 3B, 2 RBI, RS

Colin Lombardo: 2-for-4, 2B, BB, 2 RS

Dan Carter: 2-for-5, 2 RBI

Dan Carter: (L, 1-1), 0.1 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 1 K

How It Happened

Things got crazy right away in the first inning of this one. Roger Williams was the designated road team as Tyler Cedeno (Maynard, Mass.) was retired to get things started before Matt Massaro (Fairfield, Conn.) drew a free pass and Brandon Jenkins (East Bridgewater, Mass.) scorched a double down the right field line for his first extra-base hit in Florida, putting two runners in scoring position. Jack Morin (North Andover, Mass.) plated Massaro with a single to the opposite field then Carter loaded the bases by drilling Tommy Hobin (Madison, Conn.) with a 1-2 pitch. Christopher Flynn (Randolph, N.J.) would cash in by clearing the bases by grounding a triple down the first-base line to stake RWU to a 4-0 lead. Matt Kroll (Tewksbury, N.J.) would tack on two more by unloading on an 0-2 offering and sending it over the fence in left for his first home run as a member of the Hawks. Freshmen Alec Lavallee (Cumberland, R.I.) and Owen Hibbard (Roxbury, Conn.) kept the pressure on by drawing consecutive walks and Cedeno would bring one home scorching a two-bagger down the left field line making the score 7-0. Starter Dan Carter (Bloomfield, N.J.) finally got the hook in favor of lefty reliever Matt Lawler (Linwood, N.J.) who would escape further damage, but Roger Williams held the significant advantage nonetheless.

William Paterson would chip away in the home half as Colin Lombardo (Edison, N.J.) led off with a walk and Steve Yelin (River Edge, N.J.) dumped a one-out single into center. Bonavita came inches from getting out of it when Vinnie Martin (Lodi, N.J.) chopped one over the mound. There Hibbard handled it and tried to apply the tag on the dashing Yelin but came up empty though he did get the batter at first. Carter, who remained in the game as the DH, would bloop a single down the right field line to plate both runs. Then, in the bottom of the second, the Pioneers got a couple more back again. A hit batsman and a double put two runners on with two outs before Carson Weis (River Vale, N.J.) brought them both home with a single making the score 7-4.

From there, both arms would settle in. Bonavita did surrender a solo shot to Justin Grippo (Mahwah, N.J.) in the sixth but outside that, the score remained steady until the eighth when RWU once again got going with one down. Hibbard walked, Cedeno singled, and Massaro walked to load the bases for Jenkins. He would fall behind 0-2 but worked all the way back to draw a nine-pitch walk plating a run and prompting a pitching change. Now facing Pat Pantoliano (Secaucus, N.J.), Morin would single home a run and Hobin would get the lead to five with a sacrifice fly in foul territory in left to make the score 10-5.

William Paterson would battle back once again, now against Nick Harper (Westwood, N.J.), who was fresh off a 1-2-3 seventh. With one out, back-to-back men reached on a free pass and a hit by pitch leading to a change on the mound. Anthony Sapienza (North Andover, Mass.) would surrender a two-run triple to Jake Lutz (River Vale, N.J.) who came home on an infield single by Grippo and all of a sudden, the tying run was at the plate. After Lombardo's second knock of the game, Roger Williams would dip into the bullpen once more, giving the ball to Adam Harz (Manchester, Conn.) who required just one pitch to induce a 6-4-3 double play to retire the side.

The Pioneers got the leadoff man on in the ninth but a second twin killing erased that and two batters later, Harz would fan Elliott Hayward (Marlton, N.J.) to lock down the victory.

Coach's Corner

Great game on both sides of the ball! The offense came out firing and we jumped out to an early lead, but William Paterson chipped away.

The scout was to stay away from leadoff walks and advantage counts, however we ended up in them all game. Advantage counts is like playing with fire especially with a team like them who can hit 1-9. But we made pitches and plays when it counted and found a way to grind this one out.

We need to stay focused and take it game by game, but right now, we are playing good baseball and piling up the wins.

What's Next

There will be rain in the area, but Roger Williams is scheduled to play Worcester State on Wednesday morning. First pitch is scheduled for 11:30 AM.