Game One Boxscore
Game Two Boxscore

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Freshman outfielder Andrew Babb (Hopkinton, Mass.) hit 4-for-7 with two doubles, five RBI and three runs scored on Sunday afternoon to lead the Southern Connecticut State University baseball team to a doubleheader sweep of Assumption in Northeast-10 Conference play at The Ballpark at SCSU. The Owls won the first game 10-2 and took the nightcap by a score of 6-5. Jeff Barbale drove in a pair of runs in defeat for Assumption. With the wins, SCSU improves to 17-14 (7-5 NE-10), while Assumption falls to 11-20 (4-13 NE-10).

Assumption opened the scoring in the first game with an unearned run in the top of the first inning. With two outs, Mike DiReda reached on a fielding error by SCSU junior second baseman Kevin Bowerman (West Haven, Conn.) and moved to third on a hard single down the right field line by Tim Scafidi. Barbale followed with a double to the gap in right-center to plate the game's first run.

The Owls struck for the lead with four of runs in the bottom of the sixth. Junior shortstop Mike Diaz (Monroe, Conn.) led off with a single through the right side, stole second and moved to third on a sacrifice by Bowerman. Two batters later, senior designated hitter Anthony Fiorillo (New Haven, Conn.) tripled to the gap in right-center field to drive home Diaz and tie the game at 1-1. Junior first baseman Mo Davidson (Winsted, Conn.) followed with a ground ball single through the right side to plate Fiorillo and give SCSU a 2-1 lead. After Babb (Hopkinton, Mass.) worked a walk, it was freshman catcher Nick DeProspo (Worcester, Mass.) who opened up the lead to 4-1 with a two-run double underneath the glove of the diving Assumption left fielder.

SCSU broke it open with three runs in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Bowerman reached on an infield single up the third-base line and stole second. Junior center fielder Karl Derbacher (Northford, Conn.) was hit by a pitch and two batters later, Davidson was as well to load the bases. Babb followed with a bases-clearing double to the base of the left field wall to extend the lead to 7-1.

Assumption narrowed the deficit to 7-2 with a run in the top of the eighth. Wally Desrosiers led off with a hustle double on a looping fly ball to shallow center. Two batters later, Scafidi cranked a double into the right-center field gap to score Desrosiers. After an infield single by Derek Migrants, SCSU junior third baseman Chris Barile (Holbrook, N.Y.) halted the Assumption rally with a diving stop on a ball rocketed down the line by Matthew Jose.

The Owls added three runs in the bottom of the eighth to create the 10-2 final. With one out, Barile lined a single to left field and moved to second two batters later when Bowerman singled back up the middle. Derbacher followed with an RBI single up the middle which scored Barile. Bowerman would score on the play as well, when Derbacher was held up in a rundown between first and second. However, Derbacher would escape the rundown and take second when the Greyhounds attempted to cut down Bowerman at the plate. Fiorillo followed with a double to right-center to score Derbacher with the game's final run.

Senior Toby Nylin (Pleasant Valley, Conn.) started on the mound and picked up the victory (2-2) for SCSU in the first game. Over eight innings, he gave up two runs (one earned) on seven hits, walked two, hit a batter and struck out seven.

Scafidi started on the mound and did not factor in the decision for Assumption. Over 4.1 shutout innings, he gave up one hit, walked two, hit two batters and threw a wild pitch. Michael Colebrook took the loss (5-2) out of the bullpen for the Greyhounds. Over 2.2 innings, he gave up seven runs on six hits, walked two, hit two batters and struck out four.

The Owls struck first in the second game with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Bowerman was hit by a pitch, stole second and moved to third on a groundout. After Davidson worked a walk and stole second, Babb clubbed a two-out, two-run double down the left-field line to give SCSU a 2-0 lead. DeProspo followed with a groundball single through the left side to drive home Babb.

SCSU extended the lead to 5-0 with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Junior third baseman Justin Cox (Newburgh, N.Y.) led off and lined his first career double down the left-field line. He would come in to score three batters later when Derbacher lined a single through the right side of the infield. Derbacher would end up at second on the play on a fielding error by the Assumption right fielder. Fiorillo followed with an RBI double the other way down the left-field line.

The Owls added another run in the bottom of the sixth to make it 6-0. Babb led off with a double that landed on the left-field line. After moving to third on a groundout, Babb scored on an RBI groundout to first base by senior left fielder Billy Hite (Shelton, Conn.).

Assumption would fight back with five runs in the top of the eighth to cut the gap to 6-5. Mike Baillargeon led off with a triple to the base of the wall in straightaway center field and then scored on an RBI single to center by Desrosiers. Desrosiers would go to third on a double off the base of the right-field wall by Mike DiReda and scored on an RBI groundout to third by Corey Mitchell to cut the lead to 6-2. Barbale followed immediately with a double to center to score DiReda. Derek Migrants then made it back-to-back doubles with a line drive down the left-field line to drive home Barbale to make it 6-4. Steve Scannell then singled to put runners at the corners. Then, as Scannell stole second, Migrants came into score when DeProspo's throw to second sailed into center field. However, junior reliever Mike Connors (Wallingford, Conn.) would slam the door on the inning with a strikeout of Baillargeon with the tying run at second base.

Senior Nick Carlucci (Franklin, Mass.) started the second game and picked up the win (3-2) on the mound for SCSU. Over seven innings, he gave up three runs on seven hits, walked two and struck out nine. Connors threw a scoreless final 1.2 innings, gave up one hit, walked two and struck out four to pick up his second save of the season.

Barbale started on the hill and took the loss (1-5) for Assumption. Over six innings, he gave up six runs (five earned) on eight hits, walked one, hit a batter and struck out two.

The Owls return to action on Monday, April 14, when they travel to Franklin Pierce for a Northeast-10 contest. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Dr. Pappas Field in Rindge, N.H.