WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Senior  Brendan Lynch (Wethersfield) became the seventh player in Eastern Connecticut State University baseball history to hit for the cycle in spearheading a 20-hit attack that carried the Warriors to a 17-7 victory over Denison University Sunday afternoon.

At right: Brendan Lynch

Lynch had five hits and reached base in all six of his plate appearances, drove in three runs, scored three and stole two bases as nine different players contributed a hit for Eastern (3-2) in its first meeting ever with Denison (1-4). Twelve of the team's hits went for extra bases, nine of them for doubles.

Eastern scored at least once in each of its first five at-bats and in seven of nine innings. Lynch doubled and scored in a four-run Eastern first, slugged a solo home run in the second – the second of his career – singled and scored in the fourth, doubled in a run in the fifth, reached on an infield error in a four-run seventh, and tripled home a run in a three-run eighth. He is the first Eastern player to hit for the cycle since national Player-of-the-Year Jim Schult performed the feat against the University of Chicago in 2009.

Junior righty Tyler Cyr (Bristol) pitched into the fourth inning of his first career start as one of four Eastern pitchers, with junior righty Brent Pelella (Southbury) pitching 3 1/3 innings in his place to gain his first win of the year in his first decision.  Pelella allowed one run on four hits with four strikeouts, a walk and a hit batsmen.

Seniors Mike Vaccarelli (Wolcott) and Gavin Lavallee (New Milford) and junior Corey Keane (Tolland) all contributed three hits, with Vaccarelli scoring three and driving in three, Keane plating three and Lavallee scoring three. First-year sophomore transfer Tim Budd (Cheshire) chased in three runs with a sacrifice fly, single and fielder's choice, and senior Nik Ververis (Plainfield) had two hits and scored two runs.

Eastern faces Endicott College Monday at 3:30 p.m. at Winter Haven. The Gulls pounded Keene State College of the Little East Conference, 24-2, Sunday.