Game One Boxscore
Game Two Boxscore

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Sophomore pitcher Jim Fuller (Marlborough, N.Y.) threw a complete-game, two-hit shutout on Friday to lead the Southern Connecticut State University baseball team to a 5-0 victory over Dominican in the second game of a neutral-site, non-conference doubleheader. Dominican won the first game of the day, 3-2, in 10 innings. Junior second baseman Kevin Bowerman (West Haven, Conn.) hit 4-for-9 and scored two runs on the afternoon for the Owls. Michael Munoz went 3-for-6 for Dominican. With the split, SCSU's record goes to 10-9, while Dominican is now 4-8.

In the first game of the twin bill, Dominican opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Sean Brown was hit by a pitch, stole second, stole third and came into score on an RBI double by Munoz to give the Chargers a 1-0 lead.

The Owls would later tie the game at 1-1 with a run in the top of the sixth. Junior shortstop Mike Diaz (Monroe, Conn.) singled, moved to second on a Bowerman groundout and later came around to score on an error by the first baseman.

SCSU would briefly take a 2-1 lead with a run in the top of the eighth. With two outs, Bowerman singled, stole second and then scored on an RBI single by junior center fielder Karl Derbacher (Northford, Conn.).

Dominican would answer back with a run in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game at 2-2. Mario Lopez worked a leadoff walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a Robert Iglesias RBI double.

After a scoreless ninth, Dominican would win the game 3-2 in the bottom of the 10th inning. Pinch-hitter Nelson Cruz led off and was hit by a pitch. Cruz stole second and tried to score on a Lopez single but was thrown out at the plate on a strong relay throw from Bowerman. Iglesias reached on a walk which moved Lopez to second base and then the runners moved to second and third when Dan Robinson grounded into a fielder's choice but reached base as the Owls' defense failed to record an out. Brown was then hit by a pitch to force home the game-winning run.

Senior Nick Carlucci (Franklin, Mass.) went the distance on the hill and took the loss (1-2) for SCSU. Over 9.1 innings, he gave up three runs on six hits, walked two, hit three batters and struck out seven.

Michael Mondesir started on the mound, pitched eight innings and did not factor in the decision for Dominican. He gave up two runs (one earned) on seven hits, walked one and struck out five. Jack Crawford earned the win out of the bullpen for the Chargers. He pitched a scoreless final 1.1 innings, gave up one hit, walked a batter and struck out two.

In the nightcap, SCSU opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Derbacher singled, moved to second on a single by freshman right fielder Andrew Babb (Hopkinton, Mass.) and scored on an RBI single by senior left fielder Billy Hite (Shelton, Conn.).

The Owls would extend the lead to 2-0 with a run in the bottom of the fifth when Diaz cranked a one-out, solo home run.

SCSU again tallied a single run in the bottom of the sixth. Babb reached on a one-out single and moved to second on an error by the pitcher. He then came into score and give the Owls a 3-0 lead on an RBI single by Hite.

The Owls created the 5-0 final with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Sophomore third baseman Greg Malen (Stamford, Conn.) worked a one-out walk, stole second and later came into score when Bowerman reached second base on an error by the third baseman. Bowerman then stole third and came around to score on an RBI double by Derbacher.

Fuller went the distance on the mound and picked up the victory (3-0) for the Owls in the nightcap. He tossed a complete-game, two-hit shutout, walked three and struck out 11.

Tommy Mejia started on the hill and took the loss for Dominican. Over 6.2 innings, he gave up five runs (two earned) on nine hits, walked one, threw a wild pitch and struck out four.

The Owls return to action on Tuesday, March 24, when they return home to host Franklin Pierce in the Northeast-10 Conference opener for both squads. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at The Ballpark at SCSU in New Haven, Conn.