MANCHESTER, N.H. – It's on to Northeast-10 Championship Weekend after Bentley University stunned nationally-ranked and two-time defending champion Southern New Hampshire, 7-4, in the opening round of the conference baseball championships Tuesday afternoon at Penmen Field.

Graduate right-hander Brandon Ostiguy (East Greenbush, N.Y./Columbia HS) and freshman lefty Pat Heber (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City HS) combined on a five-hitter and the Falcon offense was led by graduate left fielder Liam Sears (Springfield, Mass./Pope Francis HS), who had three RBI.

Bentley, which advanced to the championship weekend for the first time in a decade, improved to 23-20 after winning for the eighth time in their last ten games. The Falcons will face Pace University Thursday as the tournament moves into the double elimination portion.

Ostiguy, in eight-plus innings, limited the powerful Penmen offense to five hits and four runs while striking out five and earning his fifth win of the season. After the first two SNHU batters reached in the ninth, Bentley coach Mike Hill went to the pen and Heber retired the three batters he faced with a strikeout sandwiched in between two fly outs. The save was his second.

Both teams had a leadoff homer to center in the second inning, senior third baseman Steve Rizzuto (Belmont, Mass./Belmont HS) for Bentley and junior catcher Nick Schwartz (Massapequa, N.Y.) for SNHU (37-11).

The Falcons reclaimed the lead in the third. Freshman shortstop Tommy Bolton (Tampa, Fla./Plant HS) drew a one-out walk, moved up on a fielder's choice and scored on Sears' single through the left side.

Bentley parlayed five hits, all singles, into three runs and a 5-1 lead in the fourth. Bolton had an RBI single down the right field line, Sears singled to center to score graduate second baseman Kyle Halloran (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton HS), and sophomore left fielder Stan DeMartinis III (Boca Raton, Fla./American Heritage HS) made it 5-1 with a single to right center.

The Penmen, who had won 26 of their last 28 games, closed the gap to one with two in the fourth, on a home run by junior left fielder Cam Caraher (Plymouth, Mass.), and one in the fifth, on an RBI single by junior third baseman Christian Mercedes (Providence, R.I.).

Bentley added two big insurance runs in the top of the eighth. Halloran reached on a throwing error, Bolton walked, Halloran stole third, senior right fielder Tim Zupkus (Middlebury, Conn./Holy Cross HS) also walked and Halloran scored on a wild pitch. Sears closed out the scoring with a sac fly to center.

Eight of Bentley's nine batters had a hit in the game with Sears (2-for-4) the only one to have more than one.

Bentley and Pace, a 6-4 winner at Southern Connecticut, met in a three-game series in Florida back in March with the Setters taking all three, 4-0, 7-6 and 10-9.