NORTHBORO, Mass. - The Saint Michael's College baseball team was swept by American International College, 23-1 and 11-8, in a pair of seven-inning contests on Wednesday at the New England Baseball Complex. The Northeast-10 Conference counterparts met during a season-opening non-league twinbill.

RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (0-2), AIC (2-0)

FACTS

• The Purple Knights played the earliest Northern opener in program history, having only played twice in New England in February. Saint Michael's met AIC for a twinbill in Springfield, Mass., on Feb. 28, 2018.
• After missing the 2021 season due to injury, senior righthanded pitcher Sean Birch (Mansfield, Mass./Xaverian Brothers) made his first outing since March 10, 2020, and initial start since April 30, 2019.
• First-year Evan Balian (Lynnfield, Mass./Lynnfield) picked up his first college hit.

GAME 1
SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior Brady Perron (Barton, Vt./Lake Region Union), 1-for-2, 1 R
• Senior John Luke Cianciolo (Guilford, Conn./Guilford/New Haven), 1-for-3
• Senior Sebastian Oetterer (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips), 1-for-3
• Sophomore Jared Duquette (Morrisonville, N.Y./Saranac), 1.1 IP, 2 BB, 1 K, loss
• First-year Jack Menard (Tewksbury, Mass./Tabor Academy), 2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
• First-year Maverick King (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex), 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• Junior Anthony Santosuosso (Arlington, Mass./Arlington), 1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Brandon Gaul, 4-for-6, 3 R, 7 RBI, 2 2B
• Junior Alejandro Mosquera, 3-for-3, 4 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
• First-year Brendan Edvardsen, 3-for-6, 1 R, 4 RBI
• Senior Mason St. Pierre, 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K

THE ACTION

• AIC took the lead with five runs on six hits in the first inning, when Gaul slugged a three-run double.
• Gaul added two more run-scoring hits in a nine-run second.
• The Purple Knights got a run back in the third when Perron scored on a wild pitch, and Oetterer and Perron came up with one-out singles during a scoreless fifth.
• AIC scored the final nine runs over its last three at bats.

GAME 2
SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Birch, 4.2 IP, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, loss
• Cianciolo, 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 2B
• Balian, 1-for-4, 2 R
• Sophomore Andrew Lanthier (Orwell, Vt./Fair Haven Union), 3-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 2B
• Junior Ulysses Luciano (Bronx, N.Y./Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy), 2-for-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB
• Sophomore Justin Garcia (Saint Petersburg, Fla./Dixie Hollins), 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI
• Sophomore Nate Rogers (Portland, Maine/Cheverus), 0-for-2, 2 R, 2 BB
• Senior Ozzie Rodríguez (Tampa, Fla./Boca Ciega), 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Edvardsen, 2-for-2, 3 RBI, 1 2B
• Junior Chad Lavelle, 3-for-4, 3 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB
• Redshirt junior Ethan Teixeira, 5 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
• Graduate student James Flahive, 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

THE ACTION

• AIC scored five runs on seven hits in the top of the first inning, with Gaul's two-run single and Edvardsen's two-run ground-rule double the big blows.
• Luciano singled home Lanthier in the home half, and Garcia's two-out RBI knock up the box plated Rogers in the second.
• Lavelle and Edvardsen ripped back-to-back two-out triples in the third to put AIC up 6-2.
• Balian led off the fourth with an infield single for his first college hit before Cianciolo doubled to center. Balian scored on a wild pitch, Cianciolo was plated on an error, and Lanthier's two-out double scored Rogers to bring Saint Michael's within 6-5.
• Four more AIC runs scored by the aid of three hits and a two-out error in the fifth.
• Balian came around on a wild pitch in the home half, making the score 10-6.
• After AIC plated a two-out run in the top of the sixth, Lanthier's infield single scored Garcia in the bottom half before the Purple Knights loaded the bases with none out to bring the tying run to the plate. First-year Filly Santos' (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Park West) groundout brought Saint Michael's within 11-8 before the Yellow Jackets wriggled out of the jam.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• March 13 vs. Thiel (Pa.) College in Fort Myers, Fla., 9 a.m.
• The Purple Knights play eight games that week at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic.