MANCHESTER, N.H. - Senior Ozzie Rodríguez's (Tampa, Fla./Boca Ciega) strong start allowed the Saint Michael's College baseball team to lead 14th-ranked Southern New Hampshire University until the eighth inning of a 2-1 loss on Saturday in the second game of a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader at Gill Stadium.

The Purple Knights fell in the seven-inning opener, 14-2, to the Penmen, whose national ranking is according to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Southern New Hampshire, which is first in the East Region poll, qualified for the past nine NCAA Tournaments, advancing to the 2021 College World Series.

RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (3-20, 2-8 NE10), Southern New Hampshire (24-7, 10-2 NE10)

GAME FACTS

• Eight of the Purple Knights' last 11 games was decided by three runs or less, with eight losses this year coming by two runs or fewer.
• Rodríguez tossed 6.1 shutout innings, the longest shutout start by any pitcher against Southern New Hampshire in 45 starts, since last May 8 by Assumption University.

GAME 1
SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• First-year Evan Balian (Lynnfield, Mass./Lynnfield), 2-for-3, 1 RBI
• Junior Ulysses Luciano (Bronx, N.Y./Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy), 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 3B
• Sophomore Matt Sevigny (Rocky Hill, Conn./Rocky Hill), 0-for-1, 1 R, 2 BB
• First-year Jarret Muzzy (Ferrisburgh, Vt./Vergennes Union), 2.2 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, loss
• First-year Maverick King (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex), 1.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K in relief
• First-year Jack Menard (Tewksbury, Mass./Tabor Academy), 2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K in relief

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Redshirt sophomore Danniel Rivera, 3-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 2 SB
• Redshirt first-year Anthony Poole, 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 1 SB
• Redshirt junior Alex Kennedy, 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 RBI
• Redshirt sophomore Cristian Mercedes, 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI
• Redshirt sophomore Brandon White, 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, win
• Graduate student Angus Mayock, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K in relief

THE ACTION

• Senior Sam Henrie and redshirt sophomore Nick Schwartz knocked back-to-back RBI doubles during a two-run first inning, and the Penmen scored twice more in the second.
• Luciano tripled home Sevigny with two out in the third before coming home on Balian's RBI single, bringing the Purple Knights within 4-2.
• Mercedes' two-run single keyed a three-run third, and Kennedy, Poole and Rivera all had RBI doubles in a four-run fourth.
• Menard went 1-2-3 through Southern New Hampshire's 3-4-5 hitters in the fifth before the hosts added three runs in the sixth.

GAME 2
SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Rodríguez, 6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K
• Sevigny, 1-for-3
• First-year Filly Santos (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Park West), 0-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB
• Senior John Luke Cianciolo (Guilford, Conn./Guilford/New Haven), 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K in relief, loss

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Schwartz, 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HP
• Redshirt sophomore Cam Caraher, 1-for-4, 2 RBI
• Redshirt sophomore Parker Hansen, 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
• Sophomore Trevor Anibal, 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K in relief, win

THE ACTION

• The Penmen left two on in the first inning and a pair more in the third.
• After the first 13 Purple Knights were retired, Santos walked with one out in the fifth and moved 90 feet on Sevigny's single to left. Senior Sebastian Oetterer (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips) hit into a fielder's choice, but the Penmen's attempt at an inning-ending double play ended with an error, and Santos came in to score.
• During one stretch between the third and seventh innings, Rodríguez held the Penmen to a 1-for-14 showing.
• Graduate student Idelson Taveras walked with one out in the seventh before Poole singled, bringing Cianciolo from the bullpen. The first batter lined to first-year shortstop Terence Moynihan (Stoneham, Mass./Saint Mary's), who collected the out and stepped on second to double up Taveras for the final out.
• With two out and no one on base in the eighth, Schwartz singled to right, and senior Dakota Mulcay singled through the hole on the right side, as the runners advanced to second and third on the play. Caraher next sent a single to center, plating both runs, but was out 8-2-6 to end the inning.
• In a 2-1 game, the first two Purple Knights were set down to begin the ninth, but sophomore Justin Garcia (Saint Petersburg, Fla./Dixie Hollins) walked and moved into scoring position on a balk, giving the visitors a chance to potentially tie the game on a single. However, the final batter flew out to left field.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Tuesday vs. Northern Vermont University-Lyndon, 4 p.m.