ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – St. Bonaventure completed an Atlantic 10 series sweep of Rhode Island by outlasting the Rams, 5-4, Saturday afternoon at Handler Park.
The Bonnies got out to an early lead in the first inning when Chris Hoalcraft hit a triple off the wall and would later come around to score on a run-scoring fielder's choice from Christian LaMothe. Later in the inning, Joey Calabretti delivered his eighth RBI of the series as he brought home Manuel Castro on a bloop single to the outfield, extending the Bona lead to 2-0.
Rhode Island tied the game in the third inning with a two-out rally that consisted of two singles up the middle and an infield error.
The tie didn't last long, however, as a lead-off home run in the bottom of the third by Anthony Fernandez reclaimed a 3-2 lead for the Bonnies.
Rhode Island knocked on the door of tying the game in the top of the fourth, loading the bases with one out. Tristan Ciampa ended the threat by striking out a hitter and then forcing the next batter into a groundout.
St. Bonaventure had a two-out rally of their own in the bottom of the fourth inning. Three consecutive hits by Alex Hebenstreit, Conner Vercollone and Joey Bruno extended the lead to 4-2 in favor of the Bonnies.
The Rams brought one back on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth after a two-out double made the score 4-3. They would later tie the game 4-4 in the top of the seventh on a two-out hit.
Back-and-forth action continued as the Bonnies retook the lead again in the bottom of the seventh. A lead-off single by Bruno and then a stolen base shortly after sent him into scoring position. Fernandez then delivered a single through the right side infield gap that would score Bruno and give the Bonnies a 5-4 lead.
Derek Duval gave Bona three solid innings out of the bullpen, allowing only two hits and one run to earn the victory.
In the top of the ninth, Calabretti came in for a second save opportunity of the series. Rhode Island threatened, loading up the bases with one away. After a full-count strikeout and a flyout to the warning track, Calabretti earned a hard-fought save and secured St. Bonaventure's first A-10 sweep of the season.
Ciampa made his first A-10 start of the season and worked five innings, allowing two earned runs with six strikeouts.
WRAPPING UP THE SERIES WITH HEAD COACH JASON RATHBUN
"Joey Calabretti is a mentally tough kid. I came to the field today and asked how he was feeling, asking more in the sense of are you ok to hit and play left field, and he was like, 'I've got an inning today if you need it.' When the game got tight late, he came in and got the job done. I'm happy for Derek Duval too, he put some zeroes on the board for us after having a tough game last weekend. It was good to see him bounce back."
"The message for the guys was to swing the bat harder. We've been a little too indecisive with check swings, not letting our hands go and be free. We've had a couple of really good hitting days this weekend. We are getting on a little run at home. We have a big one next weekend at home against Dayton. We're still in this. We have to keep fighting and getting a little help here and there and find a door into the tournament somehow."
NEXT UP
St. Bonaventure travels to rival Niagara for mid-week action Tuesday at 3 p.m.
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