Bryant Remains Unbeaten, Advances to NEC Tournament Championship Round for Second Straight Year 5/23/2014 After Kevin McAvoy threw a complete-game victory yesterday for Bryant, teammate Craig Schlitter spun a 3-hit gem on Friday to send the Bulldogs back to the NEC Tournament championship round for the second year in a row. Schlitter out-dueled Central Connecticut senior Tom Coughlin in a game that was scoreless until the eighth inning. The 3-0 victory moved the Bulldogs within one more win of a second consecutive conference crown and NCAA Regional berth. Bryant will face the winner of Saturday's first game, an elimination contest, between CCSU and Sacred Heart. Earlier on Friday, Sacred Heart held off Wagner in a high-scoring affair to live another day. The Pioneers have won at least two NEC Tournament games during each of the last six years. Game 4 #1 Bryant 3, #2 Central Connecticut 0 Box Score Highlights Buck McCarthy must have grown tired of watching the zeroes add up on the scoreboard. Bryant’s all-NEC designated hitter, who started this game behind the plate, led off the eighth inning by sending a laser way over the leftfield fence to spoil CCSU starter Tom Coughlin’s shutout bid. The Bulldogs added a pair of insurance runs, but McCarthy’s solo blast was the only support Bryant starter Craig Schlitter needed. Looking every bit like the NEC Pitcher of the Year he is, Schlitter tossed a complete-game three-hit shutout to send Bryant back to the NEC Tournament championship round for the second straight season. After Central’s Anthony Turgeon produced an infield single with two outs in the sixth inning, Schlitter went on to record 10 outs in a row to nail down his 10th victory of the season. The veteran righty fanned eight batters and walked no one during what was his fourth shutout of the spring. Coughlin was just as effective as his Bryant counterpart for much of the afternoon. The CCSU senior opened the game by retiring 10 batters in a row. He surrendered only two hits over the first 7.0 innings before McCarthy launched the homer to left. Coughlin, who fell to 5-5 with the loss, allowed three hits and two earned runs in 8.0 frames of work. All-NEC outfielder JP Sportman, who was responsible for one of CCSU’s three hits, attempted to spark a rally while leading off the ninth inning. He sent a rocket shot to right field where Bryant’s Jordan Mountford, the 2013 NEC Tournament MVP, made a sprawling, highlight-reel catch. After the sparkling defensive play by his rightfielder, Schlitter retired the final two batters of the game on benign groundouts. Batting in the 6-hole, McCarthy finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored for Bryant. The last four batters in the Bulldogs’ lineup all recorded hits on Friday. Game 3 #3 Sacred Heart 13, #4 Wagner 8 Box Score Highlights There weren’t any long balls, but there was plenty of offense during Friday’s NEC Tournament elimination game between Sacred Heart and Wagner. The two teams combined for 21 runs and 30 hits as No. 2 seed SHU survived a late-inning scare to hang on for a 13-8 victory. With the win, Sacred Heart lives another day while Wagner, which was making its first postseason appearance since 2010, is heading home. The Pioneers held a 13-2 advantage moving into the bottom of the eighth inning, but the final six outs did not come easy. Wagner scored six runs in the eighth and proceeded to load the bases with two outs in the ninth inning. With the tying run on deck, SHU skipper Nick Giaquinto summoned his all-NEC reliever James Cooksey from the bullpen. Cooksey, the league leader in ERA, needed two pitches to nail down the save. Jeff Stoddard pitched 6.0 innings of two-run ball to earn the victory for Sacred Heart. All nine SHU starters recorded at least one hit on the day. Catcher Derick Horn was 3-for-5 with three RBI. Designated hitter Matt Charmello also drove in three runs and all-NEC outfielder Jayson Sullivan totaled three hits and three runs scored. Wagner’s corner outfielders – Troy Nicosia and Shaun Flynn – produced three RBI apiece. Sacred Heart has now advanced to the third day of the NEC Tournament for the sixth year in a row. The Pioneers will take on intrastate rival Central Connecticut in an elimination game on Saturday at 12:00 pm.