WALTHAM, Mass. - The Saint Michael's College baseball team opened a three-game series with Bentley University on Thursday with a 4-3 loss during Northeast-10 Conference action at DeFelice Field.

RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (9-26, 6-19 NE10), Bentley (19-20, 16-9 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Sophomore Cameron Kroeger (Clearwater, Fla./Countryside), 2-for-4, R, RBI, 2B
• Senior Trevor Allen (Dennis, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth Regional), 2-for-4, RBI
• First-year Sebastian Oetterer (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips), 2-for-4, R
• Sophomore Danté Moran (Saint Petersburg, Fla./Dixie Hollins), 1-for-3, RBI, BB
• Sophomore Julien Giroux-Harvey (Montreal, Québec/Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf), 1-for-3, BB
• Sophomore Anthony Azpeitia (Tampa, Fla./King), 1-for-4, R, SB
• Sophomore Zach Rodgers (Parrish, Fla./Manatee), 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 10 K (career high)
• Sophomore Dan Favicchio (Massapequa, N.Y./Saint John the Baptist Diocesan), 2 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, Loss in relief

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Junior Luke Figueira, 3-for-4, R, 2B, SB
• Senior Gino Fordiani, 1-for-2, RBI
• Graduate student Mike Samko, 2 BB, 2 SB
• Senior Ryan Corriveau, 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• Senior Luke Dawson, 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, Win in relief

GAME FACTS

• Opener of a regular-season-ending three-game series. The teams square off again on Friday for a 12 p.m. doubleheader.
• The Purple Knights' seventh loss by two runs or fewer.
• Saint Michael's held a 9-4 advantage in hits.
• Seven of the past 12 meetings between the teams in Waltham have been decided by one run.
• Rodgers pushed his season total to 60 strikeouts, the most by a Purple Knight since SMC Athletic Hall of Famer Bobo Birsky '45 in 1945 (61). Rodgers went over 100 career strikeouts during the game.
• Allen's 46 hits this season are third in program history, but the most by a Purple Knight during the team's NE10 era. Dan Kiniry '94 (1994) and Alec Tice '13 (2013) had shared the mark of 45.
• With 135 career hits, Allen also moved out of a tie for the most by a Purple Knight in the program's NE10 era, a mark he had shared with Nicky Elderton '15 (133). Allen is second at Saint Michael's in hits.
• Allen is tied for eighth in season RBIs (25).

THE ACTION

• Oetterer and Allen both singled with one down in the opening frame before being stranded.
• Bentley broke through with a run in the second, as Figueira led off with a double and Fordiani singled him home and took second on the throw to the plate. Rodgers escaped the inning without any further damage, thanks in part to catcher Oetterer nabbing Fordiani stealing third to end the frame.
• The Falcons loaded the bases with no one out in the fourth but managed only one run, on a fielder's choice, as Rodgers wriggled out of trouble with consecutive strikeouts looking.
• After being held without a hit beyond the first inning, Saint Michael's broke through for three runs on four hits in the sixth. Allen's RBI single scored Azpeitia before Kroeger doubled home Oetterer, but Allen was thrown out at the plate on the play. However, Moran's ensuing two-out RBI knock made it 3-2.
• Oetterer cut down Figueira trying to steal second in the home half, and sophomore Charlie Auditore later reached scoring position with two down, but Rodgers fanned his final batter of the game.
• Favicchio came out of the bullpen for the seventh inning, when the Falcons scored twice without the aid of a hit but thanks to three errors, including a two-out miscue that brought home the eventual winning run.
• The visitors put together a two-out rally in the eighth, as Kroeger singled and Moran walked on four pitches, but Dawson struck out the final hitter.
• Giroux-Harvey led off the ninth with a single and advanced on first-year Sean Birch's (Mansfield, Mass./Xaverian Brothers) sac bunt before taking third on a groundout, but the last batter struck out.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Friday at Bentley, 12 p.m. doubleheader