They collect season-high 21 hits to back Porter's seven-inning stint
MANSFIELD, Conn. - Four players had three hits each and sophomore righty Greg Porter (Mystic) won his staff-high fourth game of the year as the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team routed Wesleyan University, 13-3, in a non-conference game Wednesday night at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.
At left: Greg Porter
Ranked No. 18 nationally, Eastern (23-9) scored seven runs in its first two at-bats on eight hits and went on to its 17th straight win over Wesleyan (18-14). The Cardinals had won their previous five.
The Warriors amassed a season-high 21 hits - 17 of them singles - off six Wesleyan pitchers, three of whom were freshmen. Porter (4-0) equaled his career-high set in his most recent start by pitching the first seven innings. He allowed only one earned run on five hits with a career-high nine strikeouts and lowered his ERA to a staff-best1.36.
Junior first baseman Joe Balowski (Berlin), who picked up his 100th career hit Saturday against Rhode Island College, reached three times with two doubles and a hit-by-pitch and scored each time. He has hit safely in his last eight games.
Picking up three hits each were sophomore leftfielder Adam Roderick (West Hartford), sophomore shortstop Danny O'Connell (Braintree, MA), senior catcher Steve Cammuso (Rutland, MA) and sophomore third baseman Mike Vaccarelli (Wolcott). Sophomore DH T.J. Larivee (Salem, MA) drove in two runs with a pair of infield ground balls and sophomore Tommy McKenna (Lexington, MA) plated the first two of his career with a pinch single in the eighth. O'Connell was also credited with two RBI with a double in the four-run second and a single in a three-run fourth.
Above: Third baseman Mike Vaccarelli and shortstop Danny O'Connell surround this fifth-inning ground ball off the bat of Wesleyan's Alex Meadow. Vaccarelli threw out the runner for the final out of the inning.
Since batting .193 through his first 20 games, Cammuso has hit safely in his last 12 games to raise his season average to .286
Freshman third baseman Sam Goodwin-Boyd hit his first collegiate home run in the eighth inning for Wesleyan, with senior shortstop Kyle Weiss singling in a run in the Cardinals' seven inning and freshman second baseman Andrew Yin plated the team's first run with a single in the second.
Eastern hosts Wheaton College (MA) Thursday at 6 p.m. The Lyons are ranked second nationally and first in New England.
