MANCHESTER, N.H. - Despite senior Evan Balian's (Lynnfield, Mass./Lynnfield) two home runs and school-record nine RBI, the Saint Michael's College baseball team lost a wild 16-14 Northeast-10 Conference affair against Saint Anselm College on Tuesday at Sullivan Park.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (8-26, 7-15 NE10), Saint Anselm (12-30, 6-16 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Balian, 3-for-6, 2 R, 9 RBI, 2 HR
• Junior Sam Cavossa (East Falmouth, Mass./The Winchendon School), 4-for-6, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 3B, 1 SB
• Junior Seth Larson (Leicester, Mass./Leicester), 4-for-5, 2 R, 1 HP
• Sophomore Richard Gilboy (South Portland, Maine/South Portland), 2-for-6, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B
• Sophomore Colin Kinsella (Winthrop, Mass./Winthrop), 2-for-5, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR, 1 SB
• Sophomore Dom Tetta (East Northport, N.Y./Northport), 2-for-5, 1 R
• Junior Braedon Jones (Williston, Vt./Champlain Valley Union/UMass Dartmouth), 2.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, loss

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Sophomore Mavrick Bourdeau, 5-for-6, 3 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB
• Sophomore Brendan Gonzalez, 3-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB
• First-year Jackson Powers, 4-for-6, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR
• First-year George Slauson, 2-for-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 1 2B, 1 HR
• First-year Gabe Knudsen, 5 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, win

DOUBLEHEADERS FACTS

• Saint Michael's leads Saint Anselm by one game for the fourth and final NE10 Northeast Division postseason spot as both teams have three games remaining.
• Balian's nine RBI broke Trevor Allen's '19 school record of seven, set against Southern Vermont College on April 18, 2018. No Purple Knight had ever knocked in more than five runs in an NE10 game. With 24 RBI this season, Balian vaulted into second in program history in career RBI (76).
• Thanks to also going deep twice on April 4 versus Assumption University at Doc Jacobs Field, Balian joins Tony Gomes '81 as the only players in program history with a pair of multi-home run games in the same season. Gomes turned the feat all on April 19, 1979, in a doubleheader at home against Saint Lawrence University, going deep three times in the opener and twice in the nightcap.
• Balian's nine RBI match Bentley University's Brendan Sencaj for the most by an NE10 player in a game this spring, but they were the most by an NE10 player in a league game since at least 2013, before the NCAA tracked individual single-game national leaders in its online database.
• Balian tied Kolifrath for second in program history with 13 career home runs, and his six this year are two short of Gomes' 46-year-old school record.
• Kolifrath reached the 90-hit plateau for his career in just his third season of action.
• The Purple Knights rapped 20 hits, notching at least 20 for the 11th time in program history, but for the first time in an NE10 game. They last knocked 20 hits on April 19, 2012, at Norwich University.

THE ACTION

• Saint Anselm led 6-0 by the fourth inning thanks in part to a three-run opening frame, when first-year Peter Fischer knocked a two-out, two-run single. Senior Brendan Harris added run-scoring hits in the third and fourth innings.
• Balian's two-run single capped a three-run fifth that halved the Purple Knights' deficit.
• After the Hawks scored on a bases-loaded walk and a balk in the sixth, Saint Michael's countered with three runs in the seventh, drawing within 8-6. Gilboy provided an RBI single and Kinsella slugged a two-run homer.
• Saint Anselm plated six runs on eight hits in the home half, but Balian's grand slam in the eighth created a 14-10 margin.
• Junior Shea Howrigan's two-run homer in the bottom half created needed breathing room, as Saint Michael's scored four times in the ninth, on Cavossa's RBI single and Balian's three-run homer with two down.
• Now within a pair of runs, the Purple Knights saw their final batter ground out.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Friday at Bentley University, 3:30 p.m.
• The Falcons received votes toward a pair of national polls the last two weeks.