In a battle of two regionally ranked teams, the #8 St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team was swept by top ranked Southern New Hampshire University, 5-1 and 7-0 at Provident Bank Park. The Spartans saw their eight-game winning streak snapped in falling to 10-6 while Southern New Hampshire improved to 15-1.
In game one, the big blow was a third inning, three-run homer by Penman Al Stanton, facilitated by a pair of dropped fly balls that extended the inning and rendered all the runs unearned. The Spartans scored their lone run in the bottom of the ninth but it was too little, too late.
Southern New Hampshire took charge early in game two, with three first-inning hits sparking a two-run rally. The Penmen would tack on three in the second and two more in the third to cruise to the sweep.
The visitors entered the weekend off a one-week layoff and their only loss to date, against Bloomfield College on March 9. The start of game was was delayed by 20 minutes due to vehical problems with the Penmen's bus, but little else would go wrong for the visitors from the Granite State.
Spartan righty Joe Ferrara would get off to a strong start, allowing just a walk over the first two innings, but poor fielding victimized him in the third. A pair of fly balls were dropped by left fielder Derek Hirsh, opening the door for Stanton's long two-out blast deep into the left field bleachers, staking the visitors to a 3-0 lead.
Ferrara continued to keep his team alive, allowing just those three unearned runs on three hits, but STAC had no answers for SNHU starter Zach LeBarron (4.0 innings, 0 runs), and reliever Jon Massad. Ferrara tired in the seventh as a walk and a single brought on Tim Tedesco in relief. A double-steal and a ground out by Kyle McGinnity made it 4-0, and a Jon Minucci homer in the ninth made it 5-0. The Spartans finally broke through in the 9th on a Salerno sac fly, scoring Matt Marotta, but it was too little, too late. Massad picked up the win in relief while Ferrara fell to 0-1 with the hard-luck loss.
There was little doubt in game two as the Penmen scored early and often. After starting with a strikeout, freshman Nick May allowed three straight hits, followed by three straight walks. Only a caught stealing prevented the damage from being worse as SNHU enjoyed a 2-0 lead. They would pick up where they left off in the second as two hits and a walk ended May's day, and reliever Ken Frawley was unable to prevent all three runs from scoring before retring the side, putting STAC down by a handful after just two innings.
Tom Enright didn't fare much better on the hill in the third, retiring just one batter while yielding two runs on four hits - including Brendan O'Brien's two-run single - before stepping aside for Mike Roestenburg, who ended the uprising with a double-play ball. The proverbial horse was out of the barn, however, as STAC found itself in a seven-run hole.
The Spartans did manage nine hits against Southern starter Tim Flight, who worked the seven-inning complete game, but were unable to string them together at the big times to push any runners across. May fell to 1-1 in absorbing the loss while Roestenberg stood out in relief, allowing just one hit and no runs in 3.2 innings of work.
These teams are halfway through their four-game weekend set, as they return to Provident Bank Park for another twin-bill tomorrow, Sunday, March 18. The Spartans return home to face nearby rival Dominican College on Wednesday, March 21, travel to face Caldwell College on Thursday, March 22, and open their East Coast Conference schedule at PBP against Dowling College next Saturday, March 24 in a noon double-header.