Brandon Grover
Brandon Grover

Freshmen Lead Bentley to 12-0 Win & Sweep of Saint Anselm Series

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Freshman right-fielder Brandon Grover (Rocky Hill, Conn./ Rocky Hill HS) homered twice and a pair of right-handed rookie pitchers, Paul Frisoli (Watertown, Mass./ Arlington Catholic HS) and Luke Dawson (Stamford, Conn./Westhill HS), combined on a one-hitter as Bentley University completed a three-game sweep of Saint Anselm College with a 12-0 win in non-conference college baseball Sunday afternoon at Lake Brantley High School.

The Falcons gave Frisoli and Dawson all the offensive support they would need in the third inning. Center fielder Mike Muir (Bridgewater, Mass./Xaverian Bros. HS) hit a double to right, stole third and after a walk, scored on a double to left by junior shortstop Justin Ashworth (Orange, Conn./ Amity Regional HS). Grover drove the next pitch over the right field fence, with grad student Ryan O'Connor (Newburyport, Mass./Newburyport HS) and Ashworth scoring in front of him.

In the fourth, senior second baseman Zachary Littman (Abington, Mass./Abington HS) made it 5-0 with an RBI single up the middle.

The Falcons broke it open in the fifth with another four-run inning. This one included a lead-off homer by Grover and a two-run double by sophomore DH Nick Neshe (Waltham, Mass./Waltham HS).

Bentley completed the scoring with three in the seventh as O'Connor had a two-run single and Ashworth hit a sacrifice fly.

Frisoli, who picked up his first career win, allowed only a fourth-inning single while pitching the first six innings. He walked one and struck out three. Dawson earned the three-inning save while matching his classmate's walk and strike out totals.

During the three-game series, Bentley pitchers limited the Hawks to just two runs and 15 hits while striking out 25. The offense totaled 34 hits and 20 runs.

Bentley totaled 13 hits off five Saint Anselm pitchers, including three by Muir, who scored twice. Grover, Littman, O'Connor and sophomore third baseman Mike Samko (Arlington, Mass./BB&N) each had two.

Bentley improved to 4-5 overall while Saint Anselm dropped to 1-5. The Falcons will be back in Florida March 12 for the start of a four-game series with the University of Bridgeport.