QU Baseball Comeback Falls Short in Tough Loss to Bryant Bulldogs

Wednesday, April 18

Smithfield, R.I. / Conaty Park

3:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

16-19

Bryant

19-14-1

Quinnipiac

Bryant

QU Baseball Comeback Falls Short in Tough Loss to Bryant Bulldogs

4/18/2018 6:51:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: QU Athletic Communications

Bruce Deckert | QU Athletic Communications

SCORE
Bryant 9, Quinnipiac 8

RECORDS
Quinnipiac — 16-19, 8-1 MAAC
Bryant — 19-14-1

LOCATION
Conaty Park — Smithfield, R.I.

SMITHFIELD, R.I. — The Quinnipiac Bobcats baseball team engaged in a back-and-forth game with the Bryant Bulldogs before falling in a 9-8 nail-biter on Wednesday afternoon. QU senior Ben Gibson went 3-for-5 with two RBI, including a two-run homer, but Bryant broke a tie with an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth to eke out the nonconference win.

Gibson's dinger is his ninth of the season, which leads the MAAC.

Fans needed a roster and a scorecard to keep track of the pitching changes at Bryant's Conaty Park — 13 pitchers were featured in the high-scoring contest (five for Quinnipiac, eight for Bryant).

Bryant took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first but Quinnipiac answered right away. In the top of the second, Gibson led off with a double down the third-base line and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Senior Julius Saporito hit an RBI single to right field and freshman Colton Bender singled through the right side, advancing Saporito to second. A sacrifice bunt by freshman Ian Ostberg moved the runners to second and third.

Then junior Kevin Huscher drove an RBI single to left field, and sophomore Andre Marrero followed with a two-run double to right-center to give Quinnipiac a 4-1 lead.

Bryant took the lead in the bottom of the third. With one out, Bulldogs sophomore James Ciliento hit a two-run homer to cut Quinnipiac's lead to 4-3. After a triple, an RBI single, two stolen bases and a sacrifice fly, Bryant was ahead 5-4.

In the bottom of the fourth, QU senior starter Chris Enns stranded runners at second and third, a clutch moment in what turned out to be a one-run game. Quinnipiac reclaimed the lead in the top of the fifth when Gibson launched his two-run homer down the left-field line. The Bobcats were up 6-5.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Bulldogs used a single and a triple to chase Enns and even the score at 6-6. After the runner scored from third on a wild pitch, Bryant led 7-6. The Bulldogs scored another run in the bottom of the seventh to extend their lead to 8-6, but the Bobcats tied it in the top of the eighth.

With one out, Bender singled up the middle and Ostberg singled to center field as Bender advanced to second. Then Huscher drove a ball to deep right field that was caught, and Bender advanced to third on the flyout. He scored when Marrero reached base on an infield error.

Junior Brian Moskey, the Bobcats' leading hitter, came through again in the clutch, singling up the middle and bringing Ostberg home to tie the score 8-8.

The comeback was short-lived. With one out in the bottom of the eighth, Bryant took a 9-8 lead on an unearned run — on a walk, a single and an error — and that was the final run in this high-octane contest.

Moskey's .338 batting average leads the Bobcats and is 10th in the MAAC. Meanwhile, Gibson's ninth homer extended his lead in the MAAC — his closest conference competitor has seven.

NEXT UP
Quinnipiac will travel to Canisius for a three-game weekend MAAC series on Saturday (doubleheader, 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.) and Sunday (12 p.m.) in Buffalo. N.Y.