NEW BRITAIN, Conn. --  The Salve Regina University baseball team scored runs in every inning but the ninth, collecting eight extra-base hits and rolling to a 17-4 non-conference victory over Eastern Connecticut State University Thursday afternoon at Central Connecticut State University.

Coming off a doubleheader loss to regionally-ranked Endicott College, Salve (6-7) picked up 15 hits off seven Eastern (6-7) pitchers, who combined to walk seven batters and hit seven and allow  two home runs, five doubles and a triple. Making his first start (third appearance), freshman righty Ben Ruddock (Deerfield, MA) was lifted with none out in the second and was charged with four earned runs on two hits while walking two and fanning one.

Batting 1-2 in the Salve lineup, Ryan Kelly and John Militano combined for seven hits and seven RBI and each scored four times. Kelly was 4-for-6 with five RBI and Militano 3-for-5 with two RBI. Kelly had a home run and two doubles and reached six times. Batting eighth, Christian Vargas doubled and homered and reached five times.

With Eastern's Little East Conference openers coming up Saturday, the defending LEC champions chose to preserve its veteran hurlers to face defending regional champion University of Southern Maine. The seven pitchers to appear against the Seahawks had compiled a total of only 20 2/3 innings this season. Two freshman pitchers -- lefty Jacob Smith (East Longmeadow, MA) and righty Kyle Skidmore (Terryville) -- were making their collegiate debuts.

Sophomore lefty Ron Buchetto (Clinton) was the most effective of Eastern's pitchers. Buchetto replaced starter Ruddock with the bases loaded and none out in the second and the Warriors trailing 2-0. Buchetto allowed two hits, a walk and hit a batter and an earned run while fanning  three before giving way to junior righty Derek Allen (Wallingford) to start the fourth.

Nearly half of the Warriors' 19 position players who saw action were first-year players. As a late-inning replacement, freshman shortstop Mike Funaro (Northford) drove in his first two career runs. Batting ninth, Funaro drove in a sixth-inning run with a ground ball and walked with the bases loaded in the eighth.

Senior rightfielder Kyle Hart (Guilford) and freshman DH Kyle Pileski (Bristol) each had two of Eastern's seven hits.

Eastern hosts the University of Southern Maine in a Little East Conference noon doubleheader Saturday at Central Connecticut.