NORTHBORO, Mass. – The trio of Justin Garcia (Foxborough, Mass.), Connor Hewlette (Deer Park, N.Y.), and Chris Flynn (Naugatuck, Conn) teamed up to strikeout 19, the most on record in a nine-inning game in program history, as the Roger Williams University Baseball team shutout Framingham State University for a season-opening, 10-0 win at the New England Baseball Complex on Saturday afternoon. Tommy Hobin (Madison, Conn.) fueled the offense scoring a career-best four runs while matching his career-high for total bases with seven, clubbing a home run along the way while Mike Masino (Bayville, N.J.) also went deep in the victory.
 
With the win, RWU improves to 1-0 on the season and have taken each of the past three matchups from FSU to take the advantage in the head-to-head series all-time, 4-3. Meanwhile, the Rams fall to 0-2 on the young campaign.
 
The 19 K's by the Hawks pitching staff does match the all-time high for a single game, a mark set on April 21, 2018, however, that team required ten innings to reach that mark. In any case, the trifecta of RWU hurlers dominated as they evenly split the nine-inning contest between the three of them, combining to surrender just five hits. Hewlette twirled the middle three innings to get credit for the win, moving to 1-0 in the process while Flynn collected his first save the long way, tossing the final three frames.
 
While being the most impressive of the five pitchers Framingham State deployed in the affair, Scott Nosky (Dedham, Mass.) did throw the first three frames allowing a pair of runs, one of them earned and ended up taking the loss to fall to 0-1.
 
Offensively, Roger Williams collected ten hits with six of them going for extra bases while also drawing nine walks on their way to a double-digit output on opening day for the second consecutive year, a plateau they had only eclipsed once in previous season openers.
 
Hawk Highlights
Tommy Hobin: 3-for-4, 2B, HR, BB, 2 RBI, 4 RS
Mike Masino: 1-for-5, HR, 3 RBI, RS
Brandon Jenkins: 1-for-2, 2B, 3 BB, 2 RS
Matt Massaro: 1-for-3, 2B, 3 BB, RB
 
Connor Hewlette: (W, 1-0), 3.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Chris Flynn: (SV, 1), 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Justin Garcia: (ND), 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K
 
For The Opponents
Ryan Boyle: 2-for-2, 2B, BB
Robert Johnson: 2-for-3, BB
Joseph Fasolino: 1-for-4
Matthew Shaver: 0-for-2, SB, BB
 
Scott Nosky: (L, 0-1), 3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
 
How It Happened
Following an uneventful first frame, Roger Williams would score their first runs of the new season in the top of the second and it was the bottom of the order who made it happen. With two down, senior second baseman Tommy Hobin (Madison, Conn.) opened his career day by ripping one down the left field line for two bags. Senior backstop Andrew DeClement (Cheshire, Conn.) followed and took advantage recording his first career hit to plate Hobin before subsequently taking Hobin's spot at second thanks to a throwing error by the shortstop, Steven Burbank (Canton, Mass.). That set the stage for freshman left fielder, Alec Lavallee (Cumberland, R.I.) who singled to left, scoring DeClement and while Lavallee also advanced to second on a miscue by the Rams, the Hawks could not take advantage.
 
After scratching across another run in the third as Hobin came home on a wild pitch, the Hawks doubled their advantage in the fifth inning. Now facing freshman righty Vinny LoGuidice (Billerica, Mass.), graduate student first baseman Brandon Jenkins (East Bridgewater, Mass.) got things started by blasting a two-bagger into the alley in left center then senior right fielder Ben Bonavita (E. Longmeadow, Mass.) put runners on the corners with a single into left. Junior designated hitter Matt Kroll (Tewksbury, N.J.) brought Jenkins across the plate with a sacrifice fly and two batters later, Hobin struck once more launching his second career home run over the fence in left to extend the lead to six.
 
RWU would really blow the game open two innings later against sophomore hurler Sean Letarte (Rowley, Mass.). Jenkins drew a free pass and Bonavita got plunked before both advanced 90 feet on a ground out by Kroll. That brought sophomore transfer and shortstop Mike Masino (Bayville, N.J.) to the dish and he cashed in with the first long ball of his career, blasting a three-run shot to left. Later on, in the ninth, the Hawks tacked on still another as junior third baseman Matt Massaro (Fairfield, Conn.) brought home Hobin with a double down the right field line to get their score into double-digits.
 
All the while, the pitching staff dominated. Graduate student southpaw Justin Garcia (Foxborough, Mass.) tossed the first three frames, picking up right where he left off last spring and only allowed a single batter to put the ball in play against him, a flyout by senior catcher Kevin Girardin (Littleton, Mass.). He did walk three men and plunk another, but he fanned eight though he did not factor into the decision. The middle three innings were handled by graduate student right-hander Connor Hewlette (Deer Park, N.Y.) and he navigated traffic during his time on the bump surrendering four hits and a walk, and along the way allowed a runner to advance into scoring position in each frame he threw. However, with some timely strikeouts he still came out unscathed and finished with six K's including three looking in the winning effort. Graduate student righty Chris Flynn (Naugatuck, Conn.) polished off the final three innings allowing one hit and striking out five.
 
What's Next
The Hawks will pack their bags as they prepare to head south to open their spring break trip in Florida six days from now when they will battle Mount Union in Auburndale, Florida with first pitch set for 2:00 PM.
 
Coach's Corner
It was great to be back out on the diamond and playing baseball. The pitching staff really dominated today. Anytime you have 19 K's as a staff, you are setting yourself up for a victory! Justin Garcia, Connor Hewlette, and Chris Flynn all pitched great but there is always room for improvement. We definitely have to limit the walks but for the first time on a real mound against opposing hitters, it was a great outcome.
 
Offensively we need to do a better job limiting our strikeouts and putting the ball in play to pressure the defense. Anytime you put the ball in play it is an opportunity for the defense to make a mistake, which you saw today and that led to our first couple runs. Tommy Hobin, and Mike Masino really swung the bat well today.
 
All in all, we ran the bases well, we hit well, and pitched well. Anytime we perform well in all phases of the game are well positioned for the outcome to be in our favor.