NEWPORT, R.I. – The Husson University baseball team fell to No. 5 Salve Regina University in a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, falling in game one 8-0, before dropping game two 7-3.
GAME ONE: No. 5 Salve Regina 8, Husson 0
Husson (4-6) hung around with the top-five ranked Seahawks (10-3), trailing 3-0 up until the seventh inning, but five runs across the seventh and eighth frames allowed Salve Regina to pull away for a win in game one.
The Seahawks found the scoreboard in the second inning to open the scoring, as an RBI-single to center field got them on the board, before a passed ball one inning later doubled their lead to 2-0.
Salve Regina added a third run on a solo home run to right-center field in the home-half of the fourth to give its starting pitcher a bit more breathing room.
Senior Matt Wallingford was able to limit the damage from the Seahawks despite allowing lots of traffic in his six innings of work.
Salve Regina was finally able to break the game open late in the contest, as an RBI-single, followed by a sacrifice fly and an RBI-double plated three runs for the Seahawks in the seventh to double their lead.
Another RBI-double and a run-scoring ground out in the eighth inning closed out the scoring in game one.
The Eagle offense was held in check in game one, as graduate student Jackson Curtis supplied two of the four hits for Husson, while juniors Hunter Curtis and Colin Marshall added a hit and a walk each.
Wallingford, junior Allen Wheaton and freshmen Avery Lawrence and Chris Lusignan combined for the eight innings of work on the mound for the Eagles.
GAME TWO: No. 5 Salve Regina 7, Husson 3
After heading into the bottom of the fifth inning tied up at five, Salve Regina (11-3) was able to plate four runs over the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to come away with the doubleheader sweep over Husson (4-7).
Much like game one, the Seahawks opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning with a single to right field to plate the game's first run.
The Eagles utilized some small-ball to get back into the contest in the top of the third, as senior Tanner Evans led off the frame with a single, which led to a sacrifice bunt from senior Ryne Rametta that Evans managed to advance to second on because of an error from the Seahawks.
With runners on first and second and no outs, Marshall sacrificed himself to the pitcher to advance both runners, which led to a sacrifice fly from graduate student Akira Warren to plate Evans, while Rametta wasn't far behind, as he scored on a wild pitch during the next at-bat to give Husson a 2-1 edge.
Salve Regina was able to get the lead back in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly of its own to tie the game, while an RBI-single to right field moved the score to 3-2 in favor of the Seahawks.
The Eagles were able to knot the game up at three in the top of the fifth, as Evans led off the inning with another single, while Warren walked with two outs and junior Cam Rendell was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
J. Curtis brought in the tying run when he drew a walk to score Evans and send the game into the home-half of the fifth tied-up.
The Seahawks broke the tie in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI-single and extended their lead with two RBI-base hits in the seventh and a sacrifice bunt in the eighth to close out a 7-3 victory in game two.
A trio of Eagles posted two-hit games in the finale, as H. Curtis, sophomore Ryan Bousquet and Evans totaled the six hits for Husson, while Warren drew two walks.
Senior Connor Abood got the start on the hill in game two, lasting five innings, while junior Tanner Audyatis and sophomores Jack Lano and Jacob Love saw time out of the bullpen.
Husson will be back in action on Wednesday when it makes the short drive up I-95 to visit the University of Maine for a single game beginning at 4 p.m.
