April 2, 2010

BRYANT BASEBALL DEFEATS HARTFORD 14-1 FOR FIFTH-STRAIGHT WIN
Bulldogs and Hawks close out two-game series Saturday in Hartford (1 pm)
 
Box score

Freshman Joe Michaud (Milford, Conn. / Foran) allowed just three hits while striking out eight and walking none through seven innings of work in Friday's 14-1 win over Hartford.  www.dspics.com

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior Jeff Vigurs (South Windsor, Conn.) went 4-for-5 at the plate with two runs batted in while senior Nick Campbell (Raynham, Mass.) drove in three runs as the Bryant University baseball won its fifth in-a-row Friday, defeating the University of Hartford 14-1 in non-conference action at the Bryant Baseball Complex.

One day after recording 24 hits in a win over Fairfield Thursday, the Bryant bats came alive once again as the Bulldogs pounded out 20 hits and scored in all but two innings to improve to 8-13 on the year.  Hartford drops to 5-11 overall.

Leading 2-0, the Bulldogs sent 11 batters to the plate in the fourth and broke the game wide open with six runs on five hits to go in front 8-0 over the visiting Hawks.

Tim Norton (Barnstable, Mass.) got things started by legging out a double with a hit through the hole in on the left side.  He would take third on a balk by Hartford starting pitcher Chris Greiner and would eventually come around to score on an RBI single by Kevin Brown (Northborough, Mass.). 

Colin Dougherty (Lowell, Mass.) and Vigurs would follow with RBI singles, and after a sacrifice fly to right by Campbell to score Brown from third, Dylan Stone (Portsmouth, R.I.) doubled down the left field line to score two more Bryant runs.

The lead was more than enough for Bryant starter Joe Michaud (Milford, Conn.).  The 6-foot-4, righty showed excellent control right from the start, using a mix of pitches effectively, including a tough curve that kept the Hawk hitters off-balance all afternoon.

Michaud retired the first nine batters he faced before Andrew Siano reached on a bunt single to lead off the fourth.  Siano would be left stranded at first as Michaud would retire the next three batters in order to get out of the inning.

After the long Bryant fourth, that saw the Bulldogs send 11 batters to the plate, Michaud may have been out of rhythm upon taking the mound in the top of the fifth as Matt Walker led off with a deep blast to center for his first home run of the season and break up the shutout. But with a little help from his defense behind him, the Bulldog freshman would retire the next eight batters in a row before turning things over to Salvatore Lisanti (Bronx, N.Y.) in the eighth to finish things up. 

Michaud equaled his season-high of eight strikeouts in the game.  He threw 81 pitches through seven innings of work and didn't walk a single batter in earning his third win of the season (3-1).    

Campbell had two hits in the game including his 51st career double moving him just three shy of the school record of 54 and two behind teammate Vigurs who is one back of the record with 53.  Vigurs' two RBIs Friday moves him into a tie for second place all time in school history with Bill DiStefano and within range of Jason Eldridge's career record of 182.

Stone finished the game going 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of runs scored and two RBIs while Brown and Zakary Cianciolo (Prospect, Conn.) each had two hits.

Bryant and Hartford will close out the two-game series with a single game on Saturday in Hartford, Conn. starting at 1 p.m.