Seahawks soar past Hawks, 9-4, to sweep Rhody series

NEWPORT, R.I. (Tuesday, April 30, 2024) - Salve Regina University baseball finished off a sweep of their NCAA Division III in-state brethren with a 9-4 victory over visiting Roger Williams University in non-league action at Reynolds Field on Tuesday afternoon. A five-run rally for the Seahawks (30-5, 12-2 NEWMAC) in the sixth made a winner out of starter Brayden Clark (Beverly, Mass.) who allowed just one run in six innings while striking out nine Hawks (22-10-1, 8-4 CCC).

After going down 1-0 in the top of the sixth, Salve Regina got back-to-back RBI doubles from Christian Homa (Fairfield, Conn.) and Hunter Yaworski (Brooklyn, Conn.) to take the lead. Tyler Petrosino (Beverly, Mass.) and Brady Smolinski (North Grafton, Mass.) both followed with RBI fielder's choice grounders for a 4-1 advantage. Nate Ruehs (Plymouth, Mass.) added a fifth run when he doubled home Smolinski.

Senior centerfielder Brandon Grover (Ashland, Mass.) singled in Homa in the seventh. Yaworski drove in his second run of the game in the eighth. Pinch-runner Matt Stokes (Summit, N.J.) later crossed the plate on a passed ball before third baseman Wil McCarthy (Pembroke, Mass.) doubled down the right-field line to score pinch-runner Shane Williams (Georgetown, Mass.).

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Salve Regina 9, Roger Williams 4
Records: Salve Regina (30-5, 12-2 NEWMAC), Roger Williams (22-10-1, 8-4 CCC)
All-Time Series: All four Rhode Island Division III schools now compete in four different leagues - Salve Regina (NEWMAC), Roger Williams (CCC), Rhode Island College (Little East), Johnson & Wales (GNAC). The Seahawks defeated all three this season including their first-ever meeting with the Hawks as ex-CCC members. Today was the 97th all-time meeting on the diamond between the two schools. Salve Regina is undefeated in the last nine meetings (8-0-1) and the Seahawks own a 61-34-2 mark in the all-time series.

SUMMARY

  • T5 - London Camelo singled to right to score Dennis Folan from second base with two outs. | Hawks 1, Seahawks 0
  • B6 - Matt D'Amato led off with a walk and came all the way around on Christian Homa's double to right field. Hunter Yaworski replaced Homa on second base after his double to left field. Wil McCarthy singled to left field and Brandon Grover was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Tyler Petrosino and Brady Smolinski both reached on RBI fielder's choice grounders. Nate Ruehs doubled in the fifth run of the frame. | Seahawks 5, Hawks 1
  • B7 - Brandon Grover had a two-out RBI single to right field that scored Christian Homa. | Seahawks 6, Hawks 1
  • T8 - Chris Faraca and Ty Cali led off with singles before Tommy DelVecchio struck out the next two Hawks. Nick Sheehan doubled to left field to get another run. | Seahawks 6, Hawks 2
  • B8 - Matt D'Amato walked with two outs, stole second, and Christian Homa went to first on a free pass. Yaworski singled in D'Amato and pinch runner Matt Stokes later scored on a passed ball. Wil McCarthy doubled down the right-field line to score pinch-runner Shane Williams. | Seahawks 9, Hawks 2
  • T9 - Owen Hibbard hit his second home run of the season, a two-run shot that was also the 15th of the season for the Hawks. | Seahawks 9, Hawks 4

NOTEWORTHY

  • Matt D'Amato singled in his first at bat for his 209th career hit and take over fifth place on the all-time Seahawk hit leaders. Next target? 220 - third-place tie between Eric Cirella '05 and Alex Perry '18.
  • With three hit batsmen (Brandon Grover, Tyler Petrosino, Brady Smolinski), Salve Regina now has 95 painful free passes on the season.

NEXT UP
Salve Regina hosts UMass Boston on Thursday, May 2, at 3:30 p.m.