WALTHAM, Mass. – Graduate designated hitter Ryan Berardino (Sudbury/Lincoln-Sudbury Reg. HS) was 4-for-4 to raise his season average to an even .500 and recorded an RBI in five separate innings, and sophomore right fielder Tim Zupkus (Middlebury, Conn./Holy Cross HS) scored five runs, as Bentley University advanced in the Northeast-10 Conference championships with a wild 15-13 first-round win over Saint Anselm College Tuesday afternoon at DeFelice Field.

Bentley, the number three seed in the Northeast Division, improved to 17-10 and advanced to Thursday's divisional semifinals. The Falcons will face the winner of tonight's Franklin Pierce-St. Michael's game in that one.

Saint Anselm had the two biggest scoring innings, with seven runs in the second and five more in the sixth, but Bentley scored in seven of eight innings, with crooked numbers five times. The Falcons put up three runs in the second, fourth and sixth innings, and two runs in the first and fifth.

Down 7-2 after the Hawks' big second inning, one that featured a grand slam by sophomore second baseman Brady Doran (Stony Brook, N.Y.), Bentley regained the lead by the end of the fourth, 8-7. The three-run second included a two-run double by sophomore third baseman Steve Rizzuto (Belmont/Belmont HS) and an RBI single by Berardino.

In the fourth, senior shortstop Kyle Halloran (Hopkinton/Hopkinton HS) scored on a wild pitch, junior left fielder Liam Sears (Springfield/Pope Francis HS) knotted the game at 7-7 with an RBI double and freshman second baseman Jackson Walonis (Walpole/Walpole HS) put the Falcons on top with an RBI single.

After Bentley went up 10-7, Saint Anselm reclaimed the lead, 12-10, with five runs in the sixth. Included were back-to-back two-run doubles by junior third baseman Dan Baker (Reading) and junior shortstop Matt Collins (Beverly).

The Falcons countered with three runs in the sixth, the last two scoring on an RBI triple by Rizzuto and a bloop single to short center by Berardino.

After the Hawks (10-18) made it 13-13 in the top of the seventh, Bentley went ahead to stay in the bottom half of the inning. Zupkus walked, advanced to third on Halloran's double and scored on a bases-loaded walk to Berardino.

A double by senior catcher Charlie Auditore (Walpole/Walpole HS) and a Hawk throwing error provided the Falcons with an insurance run in the eighth.

Senior lefty Jared Brooks (Hollis Center, Maine/Cheverus HS), in his first relief appearance of the season, provided two innings of scoreless relief to close out the win and earn the save. He gave up a hit, a walk and a hit batter before ending the game with his third strikeout of the afternoon. As a team, it was the 17th strikeout of the game for Falcon hurlers.

Each of the Falcons' top three hitters in the lineup (Zupkus, Halloran, Rizzuto) had three hits with that trio and Berardino combining for 13 of the team's 17 hits. Halloran and Rizzuto each scored three times, and Rizzuto also had three RBI.

All told, the two teams combined for 28 runs, 33 hits, 11 doubles and 417 pitches in a three-and-a-half hour contest.