MANSFIELD, Conn. – Junior third baseman Mike Vaccarelli (Wolcott) drove in five runs and senior rightfielder Tyler Caserta (Stratford) collected four hits and scored five runs as the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team closed its 2013 home season with a 13-7, 6-3 non-conference sweep over Amherst College in a game featuring two of New England's top-ranked teams.

A winner of 13 of its last 16, No. 4-ranked Eastern (26-11-1)  wiped out an early 4-0 deficit in the opener with four runs in the second, four more in the fourth and five in the sixth to make a winner of junior righty reliever Pat Barnett (Windsor). In the second game, Eastern scored two runs in each of its first two at-bats and recorded and sophomore righty starter Brent Pelella (Southbury), freshman righty Sam Kosterich (Stamford) and sophomore righty Chuck Vogt (Windsor Locks) combined on a six-hitter.

Vogt gained his first two saves of the season. He recording the final four outs of the first game after a two-run, two-out triple by Bob Cook chased Barnett (4-0) and cut Eastern's lead to 8-7 in the sixth (both games were seven innings). Barnett got a swinging strike to strand the tying run at third and Eastern responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning when they sent ten batters to the plate. Batting eighth, junior catcher Nik Ververis (Plainfield) drove in two runs with a double to center and after junior shortstop Brendan Lynch (Wethersfield) was hit by a pitch, Vaccarelli laced a two-out, two-run single through the left side.

Vogt picked up the final five outs of the nightcap as Eastern improved to 10-1-1 against Amherst (20-11) -- ranked sixth in New England -- in the last 12 meetings. Pelella carried a 5-0 lead into the fifth before giving way to Kosterich after the first three batters reached safely, accounting for the visitors' first run. Kosterich walked two in the inning but got a 4-6-3 double play to lessen the damage. Vogt was summoned with one out and two on the sixth and Eastern leading 5-3. He gave up an RBI single to Taiki Kasuga but forced an infield pop, then pitched a 1-2-3 seventh.

Batting ninth in the order in each game, Caserta reached five times in the doubleheader with four hits – including his  second home run of the season leading off the sixth inning of the nightcap – and one walk and scored five runs. Senior second baseman Drew Accomando (Monroe), junior DH Gavin Lavallee (New Milford) and senior centerfielder Mike Riemer (Ellington) all had three hits, and junior leftfielder Tommy McKenna (Lexington, MA) reaching three times and scoring three runs.

Eastern closes out the regular season Friday with a noon doubleheader at Keene State College in Little East Conference competition.