NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College baseball team split a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) twin bill with the Bulldogs of Dean College, taking the opener by a final score of 4-1 behind a brilliant complete-game effort from Tyler Baldwin (Cromwell, Conn.). Baldwin struck out a season-high eight hitters while permitting just five hits. The Bulldogs took the nightcap by a final score of 6-4, despite a trio of home runs from the Falcons, which included back-to-back bombs from Jason Sullivan (Meriden, Conn.) and Matt Warren (Wolcott, Conn.) in the sixth inning.
THE BASICS
FINAL (G1): Albertus Magnus 4 | Dean 1
FINAL (G2): Dean 6 | Albertus Magnus 4
RECORDS: Albertus (1-13, 1-3 GNAC) | Dean (5-13, 3-2 GNAC)
LOCATION: Rochford Field
HOW IT HAPPENED - Game 1
After the first inning and a half, the Falcons broke onto the scoreboard first in the bottom of the second inning. Sullivan kicked off the frame with a walk before Ron Losacano (Old Lyme, Conn.) put two on with no outs with a single down the left-field line. Nhasean Murphy (Manchester, Conn.) answered the call by firing a triple to deep left-center to plate Sullivan and Losacano to build a 2-0 Falcon advantage.
Baldwin was dealing for the first three innings on the mound, allowing just three hits with five strikeouts. After a lead-off homer by the Bulldogs in the fourth, Baldwin bounced back, retiring the next three batters to maintain the Falcons' 2-1 lead.
The Falcons added two insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to go ahead 4-1. With Joe Matthews (Anaheim, Calif.) on first after a single, Bobby Arent (Ridgefield, Conn.) turned on a pitch and blasted it over the left-field wall for his second home run of the season.
A four-run cushion was more than enough for Baldwin, as he held Dean scoreless over the final two innings to secure a complete-game victory. Baldwin's final stat line for the night read 7.0 innings pitched with five hits, eight strikeouts, and just one earned run.
TOP PERFORMERS
- WP: Tyler Baldwin (W, 1-3) - 7.0 Innings | 1 Run | 5 Hits | 1 Walk | 8 Strikeouts
- LP: Griffin Connelly (L, 1-2) - 6.0 Innings | 4 Runs | 8 Hits | 1 Walks
- Baldwin threw his first complete game of the season and set a new season-high in strikeouts with eight.
- Matthews finished game one 2-for-2 at the plate with a run scored.
- Lewczyk also posted two hits for the Falcons.
- Arent and Murphy posted a team-leading two RBIs.
- Brian Dovidio led the Bulldogs' offensive attack with two hits.
HOW IT HAPPENED - Game 2
Pitching controlled the action early in game two, with Dean tallying one run on two hits through two innings and Albertus being held scoreless on one hit.
The Bulldogs added to their lead in the top of the third, securing another run to go ahead 2-0. A single, a stolen base, and a wild pitch placed Matty Troy on third with no outs before Josh Cerretani brought him home with a sacrifice fly to left.
Albertus broke onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the third with a lead-off home run by Murphy. The senior tallied his first homer of 2022 and the second of his career by blasting the first pitch of the at-bat over the left-field fence to make it a 2-1 game.
The Bulldogs widened their lead in the top of the fourth with one run. With one on and one out, Dan Lilja flew around the bases to score from first after a Tommy Troy Jr. single to right field. With the score by Lilja, Dean took a 3-1 lead into the home half of the inning.
After a couple of quiet innings by both teams, the Falcons came alive in the bottom of the sixth inning with three runs to build a 4-3 advantage. The first two runs came from senior Warren, as he blasted a no-doubter well over the right-field wall that landed in the Albertus bullpen. Not to be outdone, Sullivan answered in the very next at-bat by sending his own moonshot over the left-field fence.
Dean retaliated in the top of the seventh with three runs to retake the lead, 6-4. A lead-off double meant trouble for AMC, as the Bulldogs strung together a sac bunt, two singles, and a double to take the two-run advantage.
The Falcons could not respond in the last half of the seventh, going down 1-2-3 to end the game.
TOP PERFORMERS
- WP: Tyler Fleet (W, 2-1) - 1.2 Innings | 0 Runs | 1 Hit | 0 Walk | 3 Strikeouts
- LP: Tristan Smith (L, 0-1) - 1.0 Innings | 3 Runs | 4 Hits | 0 Walks | 2 Strikeouts
- Arent led the Falcons with two hits.
- Warren paced AMC with two RBIs on a two-run home run.
- Warren and Warren both hit solo homers.
- Matthew Silverstein (Shelton, Conn.) led all players with five strikeouts on the mound.
NOTEWORTHY
- This is the fifth and sixth meeting between the Falcons and Bulldogs.
- Dean is now 4-2 in the all-time series against Albertus.
- Warren's home run in game two was the 17th of his career.
- Sullivan's sixth-inning home run in game two was the third of his career.
- Arent recorded his second career home run in game one.
- In game two, Murphy tallied his second career home run.
UP NEXT
The Falcons are right back in action tomorrow afternoon with a home doubleheader against the AMCATS of Anna Maria College at Rochford Field. The opening pitch of game one is slated for 3 p.m., while game two is scheduled to start around 5:30 p.m.