MANSFIELD, Conn. – Every starter had at least one hit and the No. 12 Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team batted around three times and went on to a 16-1, seven-inning Little East Conference win over Western Connecticut State University Tuesday afternoon at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.
The win gives Eastern (26-7, 10-3 LEC) at least ten wins in the LEC regular season for the 20th time in 26 years and improves the defending national champions' record to 43-5 in the Little East regular season over the last three years.
With three conference regular-season games remaining next week against Keene State College and the University of Massachusetts Boston, two-time defending LEC regular-season champion Eastern remains in second place in the conference behind Rhode Island College (23-11, 10-1 LEC), which swept the Warriors in Providence Saturday in a battle of the conference leaders. With five LEC regular-season games remaining, Rhode Island is looking for its first conference regular-season title ever.
Against Western, Eastern had 20 hits to equal its highest hit total this year. The Warriors batted around in each of the first two innings, scoring nine runs on seven hits, four walks, four stolen bases, two outfield errors, a balk and sacrifice fly.
In those first two innings, sophomore centerfielder Ray Leonzi (Trumbull) had a double and single, drove in two runs and scored a run to extend his hitting streak to nine. Junior rightfielder Jason Claiborn (Prospect) walked and scored twice, senior catcher Matt Malcom (East Lyme) singled and reached on an error and scored twice, junior first baseman Ryan Parent (Southington) drove in two runs with a single and sacrifice fly and scored a run and No. 8 hitter Brent Cosculluela (Miami, FL) walked and drove in a run with a single.
Junior leftfielder Josh Cofrancesco (Southington), Leonzi and junior DH Alejandro Soriano (Hartford) all had three hits and drove in two runs each and combined to score four runs.
Junior Preston Irby (Bridgeport) had an RBI double and scored in the sixth inning as a late-inning replacement at second base. All four of Irby's hits in eight at-bats this year have been doubles.
In a two-run sixth inning, four late-inning replacements/pinch hitters had hits and another drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in succession: In addition to Irby, Cody Meier (Norwalk) singled and scored, Hank Penders (Wethersfield) had a sacrifice fly, and Jared Clark (Bristol) and Mason Balmer (North Haven) both singled.
Batting cleanup, Parent led the team with three RBI. In addition to his first-inning single and second-inning sacrifice fly, he drove in a third run with a ground ball in a four-run fifth. Malcom and Claiborn both scored three runs.
First-year righty Dylan Scudder (Simsbury) won his fourth game in five decisions. He allowed five hits, two walks and a run over the first five innings.
Eastern hosts Roger Williams University in a non-conference doubleheader Thursday at 2 p.m.