Sean Keady
Sean Keady

Bentley Suffers Tough Loss in 11 at Stonehill, 4-3

EASTON, Mass. – A pair of two-out wild pitches in the bottom of the 11th inning allowed sophomore Chris Callahan (Southington, Conn.) to score and give Stonehill College a 4-3 win over Bentley University in Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division baseball at frigid Lou Gorman Field Tuesday afternoon.

Stonehill senior first baseman Anthony Pagano (Cranston, R.I.) led off the 11th with a double down the left field line. He tried to score on Callahan's single to left but was thrown out at the plate by senior Sean Keady (Norwood/Norwood HS), with Callahan advancing to second on the throw. One wild pitch allowed him to take third, and after a walk, another produced the game-winning run.

After five scoreless innings, Bentley grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth with a pair of freshmen involved.  First baseman Justin Ashworth (Orange, Conn./Amity Reg. HS) led off with a single to short, stole second, took third on a ground out and scored on a double to left by second baseman Burton Deady (Andover/Andover HS).

In the bottom of the same frame, Stonehill took advantage of Bentley wildness to score three times. After a hit batter, a walk and a fielder's choice put two runners in scoring position, a wild pitch plated sophomore DH Brian Hocking (Duxbury) with the tying run. Junior second baseman Christian Baglini (Milford, Conn.) followed with an RBI single to put the Skyhawks in front and another RBI single later in the inning, this one by senior shortstop Dan Fratus (Plymouth), made it a 3-1 game.

Bentley got one run back in the seventh. Senior third baseman Nate Witkowski (Melrose/ Malden Catholic HS) doubled to left , moved to third on a single by senior DH Dante Padovani (Lynnfield /Lynnfield HS) and scored on a fielder's choice, with sophomore catcher Bryan Rocha (Rehoboth/Dighton-Rehoboth HS) credited with the RBI.

Keady's speed produced the tying run in the eighth inning. He led off with a single to second, stole base, the 113th of his career, and moved to third on an errant throw by the catcher. After  a strikeout and a ground out, he raced home with the Falcons' third run on a wild pitch.

Stonehill outhit the Falcons 9-7 with both Keady and Ashworth having two hits for Bentley. Fratus and senior right fielder Billy Karalis (Pawtucket, R.I.) each had a pair for the Skyhawks (26-16, 11-6 Northeast), which received 3.1 innings of scoreless relief from junior righty Armand Rugel (Middletown, R.I.).

Bentley, 20-14 overall and 11-5 Northeast, is back on the road Wednesday with a 3:30 pm game at Merrimack College.