PURCHASE, N.Y. -- Four pitchers combined on a five-hitter over the first eight innings and junior first baseman Ryan Parent (Southington) had three extra-bases hits and drove in four runs as the defending national champion Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team won its 27th consecutive game over two seasons, 9-6, over Purchase College Wednesday afternoon.
Ranked third nationally, Eastern (4-0) moved out to a 7-0 lead through five-and-one-half innings, tagging Purchase (1-2) junior starter Cass Muller for three runs on three hits and two walks in the top of the first and breaking it open with two more in the top of the sixth that upped the lead to 7-0 as the Warriors improved to 7-0 all-time against the Panthers in the series.
Eastern collected 14 hits off of sixth Panther pitchers – with five players recorded at least two – while seven Eastern pitchers combined on a seven-hitter with 11 strikeouts (and nine walks).
First-year righty Dylan Scudder (Simsbury) was credited with his second win in his second start and kept his ERA at 0.00 with the first two scoreless inning. Scudder, who has struck out out 13 in six innings this year, got a double play started by junior shortstop Zach Donahue (South Windsor) after walking the opening batter of the inning, then struck out the side in the second to leave the bases loaded. First-year sophomore transfer Dan Driscoll (Waterford) fanned four in three innings in place of Scudder.
Parent was 3-for-4 with a two-run double in the first, RBI double in the fifth and his first career home run leading off the seventh against new pitcher Philip Dragovich, a freshman. Senior All-America catcher Matt Malcom (East Lyme) had two hits and two RBI. No. 9 hitter Jason Claiborn (Prospect) was 2-for-2 with a walk and triple, Donahue adding two hits and two runs. Sophomore transfer centerfielder Ray Leonzi (Trumbull) had an RBI double in the sixth and scored and also walked and scored the first run of the game in the first when he raced home on Donahue's two-out infield single. After senior DH Colby Linnell (Prospect) singled up the middle behind Donahue, Parent unloaded his two-run double that made it 3-0.
Eastern visits No. 16 Johns Hopkins University (7-0) Sunday at 1 p.m. The Blue Jays, who host Juniata College Saturday, already own victories over No. 17 SUNY Cortland, 6-0, and No. 2 Salisbury University, 23-4. Eastern defeated Salisbury in two games in the championship round of last year's national tournament for its fifth NCAA title since 1982.