MANSFIELD, Conn. – Senior third baseman Trey Bongiovanni (Meriden) tied the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with a two-run single and first-year sophomore second baseman Travis Bass (West Hartford) won it with a one-out single in the 12^th as the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team prevailed over Roger Williams University, 4-3, Thursday afternoon at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.

 

The win is the fourth this year for Eastern (14-9-1) and fifth in as many games with Roger Williams (15-8) in this series. Roger Williams had won eight of ten entering the game.

 

Junior first baseman Tristan Hobbes (Utica, NY) opened the 12^th inning for Eastern with an opposite-field single and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by senior rightfielder Jon Dalton (Standish, ME). Bass, who was an all-New England shortstop at Castleton State College last year, followed with a game-ending single to center that scored Hobbes with the winning run.

 

Coming off a 17-strikeout performance in his last start, Eastern sophomore right-hander Matt Fontaine (Crantson, RI) allowed only one hit through seven innings and carried a 1-0 lead ito the eighth. A bases-clearing, two-out single to right-center by Roger Williams junior second baseman Bill Lambert (Hanover, MA) gave the Hawks a 3-1 lead, however. Eastern sophomore All-America Melvin Castillo (Danbury)  opened the Eastern eighth with a single, stole second, and moved to third on Dalton's two-out infield single. Dalton stole second to move the tying run into scoring position, and after a walk loaded the bases, Bongiovanni singled through the left side to plate Castillo and Dalton to tie the game.

 

In his third appearance of the season, freshman lefty Shawn Johnson (East Hartford) earned his first win. As the fourth Eastern pitcher, Johnson allowed only one baserunner (walk) over the final two innings. Fontaine gave up three hits in 7 2/3 innings and was charged with three earned runs while fanning nine and walking two.

 

Bongiovanni had three of Eastern's ten hits. Castillo and Bass, who came into the game as an eighth-inning pinch hitter, had two hits each. Castillo also reached three additional times on two walks (one intentional) and a hit-by-pitch. Castillo's leadoff single in the eighth was the 99^th of his 74-game career.

 

Sophomore leftfielder John Parke (Middlefield) extended his hitting streak to 16 games when he singled up the middle leading off the sixth inning and came around to score the first run of the game.

 

Roger Williams freshman righty Sam Podbelski (East Greenwich, RI) did not allow an earned run over his seven-inning stint but left on the short end of a1-0 score. Podbelski fanned four and walked two and gave up only four hits.

 

Saturday's doubleheader against Colby-Sawyer College originally scheduled as a road contest will be hosted by the Hawks with a 1:00 p.m. start. Eastern visits the University of Southern Maine Friday in a Little East Conference doubleheader at noon. The games were originally scheduled to be played Saturday.