Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 DAVIE, Fla. – Southern Connecticut baseball opened the 2022 season with a pair of wins against Florida National, 11-2 and 9-2, in a doubleheader at Broward College in Davie, Fla. The Owls stand at 2-0 on the young season while FNU drops to 1-12 on the year.

Mike DeMartino (New Haven, Conn.), who returned for his sixth year with the Owls after missing most of 2021 to injury and 2020 to the pandemic, was 5-for-8 with a home run and six RBI in the doubleheader, including a 4-for-4 showing in the second game that included two doubles and a triple. Andrew Eng (Ridgewood, N.J.) drove in four runs, while Tony Zambito (Ridgewood, N.J.) had six stolen bases in the twinbill, including four in the second game. Billy Sullivan (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) was 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI and four runs scored in the first game and scored three more runs in the second.

Game 1: SCSU 11, FNU 2
How It Happened:

• The Owls got on the board early when Zambito led off the game with a single and then stole second. He came around and scored on a single by Billy Sullivan.
• Connor Goggin singled in his first Owls' at-bat, moving Sullivan to second who was driven home by Jack Drewry to give the Owls a 2-0 lead.
• In the third, Sullivan led off with a double and scored on a base hit by Andrew Eng. In the fourth, Tyshaun Diaz singled and then stole second and moved to third on a throwing error by the catcher before scoring on a wild pitch.
• In the fifth, Goggin stroked his second hit of the game before Mike DeMartino connected for his first home run of the season to give the Owls an 7-1 lead. After Drewry and Mike Ferrett singled, Drewry scored to make it 8-1 on a fielder's choice by Diaz.
• In the sixth, after Sullivan, Eng and Goggin walked to load the bases, Sullivan scored on a sacrifice fly by DeMartino to give the Owls a 9-2 lead.
• In the seventh, Zambito reached on a fielder's choice before stealing second and then scoring on a double by Sullivan. Eng followed with a single to bring home Sullivan and make it 11-2.
• Steve Phillips got the win in his first start for the Owls of the season after scattering two runs on four hits while striking out five over five innings.
• Sullivan was 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI and three runs scored while Eng was 2-for-4 with two RBI. DeMartino led the Owls with three RBI in the game while Zambito scored two runs and stole two bases.

Game 2: SCSU 9, FNU 2
How It Happened:

• Zambito got the Owls rolling again with a walk in first at-bat, that quickly turned into a runner on third base after the senior infielder stole second and third.
• After Sullivan walked, Eng's foul pop-up down the left-field line was deep enough to score Zambito with the game's first run. After Sullivan moved to second on a wild pitch, DeMartino drove him in with a single to push Southern's lead to 2-0.
• Florida National responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning to tie it up at 2-2.
• In the third, Sullivan doubled to lead-off the inning before scoring on a triple by Eng for the go-ahead lead. Goggin doubled to score Eng and DeMartino tripled to plate Goggin and make it 6-2.
• Sullivan made it 7-2 in the 4^th, scoring on a double by Eng. The Owls tacked on runs in the fifth and sixth.
• On the mound, Nick Guarino, a graduate student who transferred to Southern Connecticut from Clark University, picked up his first win for the Owls after allowing two runs on six hits over five innings while striking out six. Alec Erskine pitched two scoreless innings, allowing two hits while striking out two.

NOTES

• Zambito's seven stolen bases in the doubleheader brings him to 65 for his career, good for fifth all-time. Zambito passed Kevin Bowerman (63) and Shane Russell (64) on the list and now sits one behind Glen Maxwell (66). Zambito is in the hunt for Nick Lamberti's career stolen base record of 80 set during the 2019 season.
• Zambito was also the last player to steal four bases in a game, doing so against Dominican on Feb. 23, 2020.
• For DeMartino, his home run in the first game was the 10^th of his career while he now has 120 RBI for his career.
• In addition, his two doubles in the second game give him 46 for his career for the fifth-most in program history. He sits one double behind Joe Sorrentino (1993-96) and Jason Oliverio (1997-00) who are tied for fourth with 47 for their careers.
• The last time Southern had triples in a game was on Apr. 19, 2019 in a 12-9 win against American International.
• Jack Drewry (Wolcott, Conn.) was 4-for-6 with two RBI while first-year Owl Connor Goggin (), a transfer from Hartford, was 3-for-6.

UP NEXT
Southern is back in action next weekend when it travels to Myrtle Beach, S.C. to face Dominican (Feb. 25), Felician (Feb. 26) and Chestnut Hill (Feb. 27).