Local College Sports

Siena bats come alive in Sunday sweep of Peacocks

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Siena Baseball took a big step Sunday towards keeping its hopes at securing a MAAC Tournament berth alive. The Saints erupted for 29 runs and 32 hits in a securing a critical doubleheader sweep of Saint Peter’s in the Garden State. Siena won the opener 17-2 and took the nightcap 12-4 to clinch its ninth consecutive conference road series triumph dating back to 2015.

The 29 runs scored were the most by a Siena (16-24-2, 7-10) squad in a doubleheader sweep since combining to score 34 in capturing both ends of a twin bill at NYIT on Mar. 20, 2010. Every member of the starting lineup recorded a hit in each game, as a total of 12 different Saints tallied hits and 10 scored runs for the afternoon. Overall, 48 batters reached base safely, and Siena pounded out a total of 15 extra base hits.

Junior second baseman Jordan Bishop paced a balanced offensive explosion by going 6-for-8 and reaching base safely eight times with five RBI and four runs scored. Senior centerfielder Dan Swain and junior first baseman Joe Drpich each added identical lines of 4-for-9 with five runs scored for the afternoon, as the top three hitters in the Saints’ order recorded monster performances at the plate.

Game One: Siena 17, Saint Peter’s 2

Siena recorded season-highs in runs scored (17), hits (22), and doubles (nine). Ten different Saints recorded hits in the rout, with eight members of the starting lineup scoring runs, while eight also drove in runs in a complete offensive effort.

Siena led 13-0 through five innings, after scoring multiple runs in each frame. The Saints ultimately tallied multiple runs in all six innings in which they scored. Nine different Siena players accounted for the team’s doubles, including five which tallied two-baggers during a six-batter stretch in a four-run eighth.

Bishop led the way with four hits, while Drpich scored four times. Swain recorded three hits, and finished just a home run shy of a cycle. Meanwhile, sophomore southpaw Tommy Miller tossed seven effective, low pressure innings to secure his fifth win.

Saint Peter’s (0-31, 0-17) scored both of its runs in the fourth inning on an RBI double by Jesse Matos, and a run-scoring single from Brian Turton.

Game Two: Siena 12, Saint Peter’s 4 (7)

Siena broke the game wide open with a nine-run sixth inning to cruise to the doubleheader sweep. The Saints batted around during the decisive frame in sending 13 men to the plate during their most explosive inning of the season.

Siena harbored just a 3-0 advantage heading into the second-to-last inning before the bats came to life once again. Freshman Alex Brickman provided a glimpse at what was to come, opening the frame with ironically the Saints’ only home run of the day. Siena went on to score eight of their nine runs in the inning after two were already out, with Swain, Bishop and Drpich each coming through once again with RBI hits.

Freshman Brendan White threw 4.2 scoreless innings to record his fourth win, while Dylan D’Anna recorded the final seven outs to notch his fifth save.

Saint Peter’s scored all four of its runs in the home half of the wild sixth inning, but it was not anywhere near enough for the Peacocks which have now lost all 31 games this season and dropped 42 of their last 44 overall dating back to last year.

Siena will now try to complete what would be a much-needed series sweep Monday, when the three-game set concludes with a 2 p.m. first pitch.

-Michael Demos, Siena Athletics

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