COLCHESTER, Vt. - In a Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division game originally started on April 8 against Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., but halted after five innings because of snow, the Saint Michael's College baseball team dropped the resumed game, 10-0, on Wednesday at Doc Jacobs Field. The Purple Knights then beat the Hawks, 7-4, in a rain-shortened, six-inning contest in the nightcap. Saint Michael's goes to 10-23 overall and 4-15 in the league, while Saint Anselm moves to 11-22 and 8-12.

During Wednesday's games, Purple Knight senior Nicky Elderton (Shelburne, Vt./Rice Memorial) became the program's career leader in games played (140), passing Alec Tice '14, and runs scored (83), passing both Kevin Harutunian '06 and Seth Cole '01. Elderton added to a list that already included him holding school marks in doubles (31), walks (78) and total bases (204), and he also moved into a tie for third in hits (129) with Matt Beaulieu '10. By hitting his 10th career home run, Elderton joined Jack Coffey '57 (17) as the lone two Purple Knights ever with a double-digit home run total.

Seniors Michael Dougherty (Albany, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy/Schenectady County CC) and Don McGuirl (Warwick, R.I./Saint Sebastian's School), junior Matt Feeney (Portsmouth, N.H./Portsmouth), sophomore Steven Auger (Hopkinton, N.H./Hopkinton) and first-year Peter Bocchino (Saugus, Mass./The Governor's Academy) all had a hit as part of the April 8 game for Saint Michael's. Senior George Buteau (Burlington, Vt./Trinity-Pawling School) drew two walks and sophomore Peter Cross (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) was tagged with the loss after allowing nine runs on six hits with five strikeouts in 7.1 innings.

First-year Shaine Carpenter (Florham Park, N.J./Bridgton Academy) went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored for Saint Anselm, while senior Mike Hayden (Cranston, R.I./Cranston West) and first-year John Marculitis (Shrewsbury, Mass./Worcester Academy) both doubled, with Marculitis also driving in two runs and Hayden scoring twice. Senior Joe Morin (Salem, N.H./Salem) scored twice and sophomore Jon McQuarrie (Salem, N.H./Bishop Guertin) walked twice. Junior Tyler Buck (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) surrendered just one hit with two walks and two strikeouts in four scoreless relief innings for the victory after sophomore Joseph Levasseur (Rowley, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) scattered five hits over the opening five scoreless innings.

After resuming the April 8 contest on Wednesday with the game in a scoreless tie to start the sixth inning, Saint Anselm - serving as the home team - pushed across three runs to take a 3-0 lead. Following Hayden's double, Morin singled to center field to bring in the first run before sophomore Nick Bragole (Newburyport, Mass./Saint John's Prep) had a home run bid snagged in left field by Auger, who made the catch but fell over the outfield fence, which allowed a second run to come home on the dead ball. Both sides went scoreless in the seventh, but the Hawks played seven runs on just three hits in the eighth to take a 10-0 lead aided by Marculitis' two-run double and Carpenter's two-run single. Buck then tossed a scoreless ninth thanks to a game-ending double play.

In the nightcap, Bocchino went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, while Elderton homered, walked twice and had two RBIs. First-year Aiden Burton (Milford, Conn./Notre Dame) doubled in his only official at bat of the day while scoring two runs and being hit by a pitch while also laying down a sacrifice bunt. Auger was 1-for-1 with one RBI, one walk, one hit-by-pitch and one run scored, while Dougherty had a hit, an RBI and a run scored. Junior Curt Echo (Shelburne, Vt./Champlain Valley Union) collected his first win of the season along with his fourth complete game after striking out three batters.

Carpenter, Morin and junior Ken Morrisino (East Longmeadow, Mass./East Longmeadow) all had two hits for the Hawks, with Carpenter and Morin both driving in a run and Morrisino scoring twice. First-year Max Wadington (Burlington, Conn./Lewis Mills) was 1-for-1 with two walks, while sophomore John Lavoie (Medford, Mass. Medford) took the loss with seven runs allowed - two earned - with six hits and four strikeouts in 5.1 innings.

With the game tied 1-1 after Dougherty knocked an RBI single in the third inning, the Purple Knights pulled ahead with three runs on three hits in the fourth. Elderton blasted a solo homer to lead off the charge, later followed by Bocchino and Auger, who both had RBI singles as Saint Michael's led, 4-1, after four innings. Saint Anselm came right back and tied the game with three runs in the fifth on a Saint Michael's throwing error, a Carpenter RBI single and a squeeze bunt by Morin to knot up the score at 4-4.

The Purple Knights retook the lead for good in the sixth when Salk's bases-loaded, two-out grounder sneaked was misplayed on the soggy infield, allowing Auger and Burton to both score. Elderton then drew a bases-loaded walk, and the contest was called after the inning due to rain with the hosts claiming the victory.

Saint Michael's plays again at home tomorrow in a 3:30 p.m. meeting against 20th-ranked Southern New Hampshire University. The Penmen are ranked nationally by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).