COLCHESTER, Vt. - Senior Danté Moran (Saint Petersburg, Fla./Dixie Hollins) hit a tie-breaking two-run double in the sixth inning before recording the save as the Saint Michael's College baseball team down regionally-regarded Stonehill College, 3-2, during the seven-inning opener of a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader on Thursday at Doc Jacobs Field. The victory, which first-year left fielder Matt Sevigny (Rocky Hill, Conn./Rocky Hill) clinched with a game-ending catch at the fence, was the first of Jim Neidlinger's collegiate head coaching career.

The Skyhawks, who received votes toward this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) East Region poll, took the nightcap by a 13-5 count to complete the four-game regular-season series.

RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (1-4, 1-3 NE10), Stonehill (6-5, 3-5 NE10)

GAME 1
SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• First-year Jared Duquette (Morrisonville, N.Y./Saranac), 6.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, win
• Senior Danté Moran (Saint Petersburg, Fla./Dixie Hollins), 1-for-3, 2 RBI, 1 2B; 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, save
• Junior Mitchell Goulet (North Easton, Mass./Oliver Ames), 1-for-2, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR
• First-year Mason Dushney (Ashland, Mass./Ashland), 1-for-3, 1 R
• First-year Andrew Lanthier (Orwell, Vt./Fair Haven Union), 0-for-1, 1 R, 1 BB

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Sophomore Edward Beauregard Jr., 2-for-3, 1 RBI
• Junior Noah Lucier, 1-for-2, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 2B
• Senior Michael White, 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, no-decision
• Sophomore Matt Tyman, 0.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, loss
• Sophomore Brendan Kelly, 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

GAME FACTS

• Jim Neidlinger, a former MLB pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers, earned the first victory of his collegiate head coaching career. Now in his second season, the Purple Knights played only two contests in 2020 before the remainder of the season was suspended due to the pandemic.
• Duquette claimed the first win of his fledgling career, while Moran earned his first save.
• The Skyhawks received votes toward this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) East Region poll.
• Stonehill held a 5-3 edge in hits but left five runners on base to only one for the Purple Knights, including three in scoring position.

THE ACTION

• The opening contest featured numerous defensive highlights by the Purple Knights, beginning with junior catcher Sebastian Oetterer (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips) pouncing on a tapper up the third base line, wheeling around and firing to first to retire Stonehill's initial batter in the second inning.
• Later in the frame, Lucier doubled with two down before Beauregard's single back through the box made it 1-0.
• In the home half, Goulet knotted the contest by socking his second home run of the season to left field.
• Center fielder Lanthier made a diving catch toward left center for the first out in the third inning, and junior first baseman John Luke Cianciolo (Guilford, Conn./Guilford/New Haven) made a nice pick of an infield throw for the second out of the fifth inning.
• Stonehill's leadoff hitter walked to begin the sixth, but shortstop Moran ranged behind second base before shoveling to second baseman Dushney, who avoided the charging runner and tossed to a stretching Cianciolo to complete the 6-4-3 double play. Cianciolo made a nice pick-up before flipping to Duquette for the final out.
• After Goulet's home run was the only base runner White allowed in five innings, Stonehill went to the bullpen to begin the sixth. Lanthier led off with a walk before Dushney's one-out infield single hit off the pitcher, putting runners at first and second. Moran followed by doubling on a 2-0 pitch to right center to plate both rookies and give the hosts a 3-1 lead.
• Lucier led off the seventh with a walk and reached second on a wild pitch before Beauregard grounded out to Moran at short, and Duquette left the contest in favor of Moran. The next batter grounded out, but sophomore Mike Maher's two-out single to center made it 3-2. Stonehill's leadoff hitter followed by driving a 2-1 pitch to deep left field, but first-year Matt Sevigny (Rocky Hill, Conn./Rocky Hill), who had entered for defensive purposes to begin the inning, made a running catch one step before the fence before his momentum sent him over the fence after securing the final out.

GAME 2
SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Cianciolo, 1-for-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB
• Sophomore Brady Perron (Barton, Vt./Lake Region Union), 1-for-2, 1 R, 2 BB
• Senior Iset Maldonado (Brooklyn, N.Y./Saint Francis Prep), 1-for-1, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 2B
• Senior Alex Mendez (Fallon, Nev./Churchill County), 6+ IP, 8 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, loss
• Senior Julien Giroux-Harvey (Montreal, Québec/Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf), 1.1 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
• Senior Shane Epps (Queens, N.Y./Saint Francis Prep/Mercy), 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K
• Sophomore Lucas Persechino (Clearwater, Fla./Countryside), 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (college debut)

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Beauregard, 3-for-4, 4 R, 1 2B, 1 HP
• Sophomore Conor Kiely, 4-for-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 HP
• Sophomore Blaine Lidsky, 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR
• Sophomore Billy Duff, 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, no-decision
• Junior Matt Smith, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, win

GAME FACTS

• The Purple Knights, who were only outhit 10-6, led 2-1 until the top of the sixth inning.
• Mendez, who picked off two runners in the game, allowed only two runs on five hits during the opening six frames before Stonehill scored six runs in the seventh.

THE ACTION

• Beauregard led off the third with a double before scoring on Maher's triple, and the Purple Knights averted further damage when Lanthier snared a line drive in center to begin an inning-ending 8-3-1-5 double play that included Maher being out at third on appeal, negating his scoring on an apparent sac fly.
• Cianciolo's two-out, two-run single put the hosts up 2-1 in the fourth, plating sophomore Ulysses Luciano (Bronx, N.Y./Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy) and Giroux-Harvey.
• Sophomore Anthony Santosuosso (Arlington, Mass./Vermont Academy) led off the fifth with a double but moved no further, and Lidsky's leadoff homer in the sixth tied the game. Four more runners reached in the frame, but Mendez's second pickoff played a role in keeping the Skyhawks scoreless after the home run.
• Stonehill broke the tie with six runs on three hits and three errors in the seventh, with four of the runs unearned.
• Lanthier scored an unearned run in the home half, bringing his team within 8-3, and the Purple Knights loaded the bases with one down but did no further damage.
• Kiely drove in three of the Skyhawks' five runs over the final two innings, being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth before coming through with a two-run single in the ninth.
• Maldonado's two-out, two-run double to center field brought home Perron and Cianciolo in the eighth.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday at Bentley University, 12 p.m. doubleheader.