DANBURY, Conn. - The top three hitters in the starting lineup combined to drive in nine runs with eight hits and score six runs as the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team swept the Little East Conference regular-season series from Western Connecticut State University for the first time in four years with an 18-6 victory at Westside Field Tuesday afternoon.

With its ninth straight win, Eastern (22-8-1, 7-3 LEC) retains a two-way tie for second place in the conference with Keene State College and moves to within a game of leader University of Southern Maine, which dropped a 4-0 home decision to University of Massachusetts Boston Tuesday. Keene knocked off visiting Plymouth State University, 5-1.

In a season-high 19-hit attack, junior shortstop Brendan Lynch (Wethersfield), junior third baseman Mike Vaccarelli (Wolcott) and All-New England senior first baseman Joe Balowski (Berlin) - batting 1-2-3 in the order - led the assault against six Western (11-17, 2-6 LEC) pitchers.

Lynch drove in five runs with a ground ball in a six-run second inning, a two-run, two-out single in the third, an RBI single in a seven-run eighth and a two-out double in the ninth. Vaccarelli plated two with a two-run single when Eastern batted around in the second and Balowski followed Vaccarelli in the second with a two-run double. Each of the three also scored twice.

Batting eighth and ninth, respectively, senior rightfielder Tyler Caserta (Stratford) and junior catcher Nik Ververis (Plainfield) also drove in two runs each and scored two. Caserta was hit by a pitch and scored in the second and belted a two-run double in the seven-run eighth; Ververis was hit with the bases loaded in the second and followed Caserta's two-run double with an RBI double in the eighth.

The first of five pitchers, senior righty Andrew Merritt (Norwalk) won his second straight start by pitching the first five innings. He gave up six hits and four earned runs with four strikeouts and no walks.

Ranked No. 4 in New England, Eastern hosts No. 3 Western New England University Wednesday at 6 p.m.