ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Freshman right fielder Brandon Grover (Rocky Hill, Conn./Rocky Hill HS) capped a three-run eighth inning to give Bentley University a 3-1 game-one non-conference win over Saint Anselm College and the Falcons completed the doubleheader with a 5-1 win in the nightcap in college baseball action Saturday afternoon at Lake Brantley High School.

Bentley (3-5) outhit the Hawks 21-14 in the twinbill and received solid pitching all day, giving up only two runs while striking out a total of 19.

After Saint Anselm (1-4) broke a scoreless tie with a run in the top of the eighth in the opener, the Falcons responded by scoring three times in the bottom half. With runners on the corners as the result of an infield single and a walk, junior shortstop Justin Ashworth (Orange, Conn/Amity Regional HS) evened the game with an RBI single through the left side.

Later in the inning, Grover delivered a two-out two-run single to score both Ashworth and grad s

student Ryan O'Connor (Newburyport, Mass./Newburyport HS).  Winning pitcher Jack Burke (Reading, Mass./St. John's Prep), a junior righty, closed out the game with a scoreless ninth, including called strikeouts for the final two outs.

Burke took over from graduate student Bill Sullivan (Carver, Mass./Carver HS), who was outstanding. The right-hander scattered five hits in seven inning and struck out seven, including the side in the second.

Bentley's eight hits in the opening included three by Ashworth, who finished the day with a .448 average, and two by Grover.

In game two, the Falcons went up 2-1 in the top of the fourth when sophomore third baseman Mike Samko (Arlington, Mass./BB&M) came in from third on a grounder to first by grad student Mike Muir (Bridgewater, Mass./Xaverian Bros. HS).

Bentley picked up insurance with single runs in each of the final three innings. O'Connor singled and scored on a wild pitch in the seventh, O'Connor had an RBI double to left in the eighth and sophomore catcher Liam Matheson (Yarmouth Port, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth Reg. HS) had a bases-loaded infield single in the ninth.

The Falcons had a total of 13 hits, including a four-for-five effort by O'Connor. Matheson, Ashworth and Samko each finished with two hits.

Junior lefty Evan Walsh (Arlington, Mass./Arlington Catholic HS) allowed only three hits and struck out eight in six innings to get the win, and senior right-hander Will Alden (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) came on for the three-inning save. He allowed two hits and fanned two.

Bentley will go for a sweep the Hawks Sunday, also at Lake Brantley High. First pitch is scheduled for noon.