May 1, 2004

Box Score

BRIDGEPORT, CT - Senior Chuck Ristano (Valley Stream, NY) pitched a five-hit shutout, while senior first baseman Jamie Schilkowski (Shelton, CT) drove home the only run of the game with a single in the third inning to lead Sacred Heart University to a 1-0 win in the opening game of a Northeast Conference baseball doubleheader Saturday afternoon. The Pioneers used a homer and a pair of RBI from sophomore catcher Sean Kammerer Long Beach, NY) and three shutout innings of relief from senior hurler Dan Scott (Nanuet, NY) to complete the sweep, 6-2.

Sacred Heart, now 9-32 overall and 7-10 in the NEC, got a two-out double by senior second baseman Greg Delmonico (Brewster, NY) in the third, and Schilkowski laced a 1-1 pitch into center to chase him home.

Ristano, who raised his record to 3-6, allowed three hits in the first two innings but held the Bobcats hitless from the third through the sixth.

Quinnipiac looked to have a golden chance to tie or win in the seventh inning when freshman Tim Binkoski (North Haven, CT) led off with a single to left, and went to second when Ryan Rizzo reached on an error by the SHU third baseman. Freshman Randy Gress (Shelton, CT) came to the plate to sacrifice and laid down a perfect bunt to third that he beat out for a single to load the bases with no one out.

Ristano then got QU catcher Steve Silverstein to tap back to the mound and he went home to get the force, leaving the sacks loaded with one out. Bobcat leadoff hitter Wilson Matos (Larchmont, NY) was next and he also hit it back to Ristano who started a 1-2-3 double play to end the game.

Ristano threw 102 pitches and finished the game with three strikeouts and two walks, in pitching his third complete game of the season.

The Pioneers used a Quinnipiac error in the first inning of the second game to take a 2-0 lead. Delmonico singled with one out and an error by the Bobcat second baseman when Schilkowski came up put two runners on. Curtis Lewsey singled up the middle to score Delmonico. Freshman Jay Monti followed with a single to load the bases. The Schilkowski scored the second run on a ground out by freshman Tony Diaz.

Quinnipiac, scored its first run of the afternoon in the third inning. After SHU starter Rob Duell (Scotia, NY) retired the first two batters, the Bobcats got three consecutive singles, the last by sophomore Bryan Sabatella (Wading River, NY) that scored Ricky Coppola (Orange, CT).

Sacred Heart got the run right back in the bottom of the inning. Lewsey was hit by a pitch by QU starter Chris Wakefield (Ronkonkoma, NY) with two outs and promptly stole second. Monti followed with a single to center to give the Pioneers a 3-1 lead.

The Bobcats closed to 3-2 in the fourth scoring an unearned run when Randy Gress scored from second base when the Pioneers tried to turn a double play on a grounder to short, but the throw to first bounced in the dirt skipped past the first baseman.

The Pioneers used a couple of Quinnipiac mistakes in the bottom of the fourth to open up a 5-2 lead. After getting the first two batters of the inning, Wakefield gave up a long homerun to left to Kammerer. Jay Maiella then singled and stole second. On the throw to second, the ball skipped into the outfield and Maiella took advantage of slow reactions by the Bobcat fielders and scored all the way from second.

Scott came on in relief of Duell to start the fifth for the Pioneers and he allowed the Bobcats just a seventh inning single to earn his first win of the season.