Panthers drop LEC slugfest to Colonials

            DANBURY, Conn. – Western Connecticut State University scored 29 runs on 35 hits Saturday afternoon en route to sweeping a Little East Conference baseball doubleheader from Plymouth State University, 12-1 and 17-11, at Westside Field.

            Senior lefty Billy Armstrong (Moosup, Conn.) collected the win for WestConn in the opener and earned a save in the nightcap.  He pitched two-hit, four-walk shutout baseball for six innings for the victory in the first game, striking out seven, and worked the final 2.1 innings of the nightcap, allowing only a pair of walks while fanning two after PSU had 13 hits in the first 6.2 innings.

            Sophomore Chris Smith (Monroe, Conn.) led the Colonial hitters in the first game with three hits, including a home run and three RBI.  Sophomore Bill Eannotti (Shelton, Conn.) went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI and junior Zack Dandrea (Wanaque, N.J.) had two hits, including a home run, and scored twice.

            PSU reserves broke up the shutout off the Colonial bullpen in the seventh and final inning of the opener, as sophomore Joe Perry (Sandwich, Mass.) reached base on a hit and later scored on a single by freshman Rob Madonna (Cranston, R.I.)

            The teams combined for 28 runs and 33 hits in the nightcap.  WestConn outslugged the Panthers, scoring four times in the second and third innings to take an 8-4 lead, added three runs in the fourth and fifth innings to extend the margin to 14-7, and finished off the scoring with three runs in the seventh.

            Dandrea had four RBIs to lead the Colonials in the nightcap, including a three-run homer.  Eannotti went 4-for-4 with a walk and a pair doubles, and junior Mike Yates (Guilford, Conn.) went 4-for-5 with a triple and two RBIs.

            Senior Bryant Lausberg (Somersworth, N.H.) and junior Luke Merrill (Pittsburg, N.H.) were the big hitters for PSU, Lausberg going 3-for-5 with a double, home run and two RBIs and Merrill adding three hits and two RBIs.  Sophomore Steve Beard (Middleton, Mass.) also reached base four times with two hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch.

            PSU gets right back into action Sunday with a non-conference doubleheader against Colby College, which will be played at NHTI in Concord, N.H., beginning at 1:00 p.m.  WestConn plays an LEC game Tuesday at Eastern Connecticut. 

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