MANSFIELD, Conn. – Eight consecutive batters reached safely as the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team broke a tie with six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning in an 11-5 victory over Tufts University Monday afternoon at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.

Playing its ninth game this year against a team ranked in this week's New England poll (released today), unranked Eastern (15-15) defeated Tufts (24-8) for the fourth straight season. The Jumbos are ranked first in New England.

Eastern broke the third tie of the game by sending 11 batters to the plate in the bottom of the eighth and scoring  six times on four hits, two walks, two hit batters, a passed ball and wild pitch off freshman righty reliever Zach Brown. Eight straight batters reached on four hits, two walks and two hit-by-pitch after Brown retired the leadoff batter. A bases loaded passed ball gave the Warriors the lead for good, 6-5, and sophomore centerfielder Pat Sirois (Cromwell) made it 8-5 when he stroked a 1-2 pitch with the bases loaded down the left field line to drive in two runs. Junior DH Andrew Scully (Stratford) – the team's leading hitter who was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts to that point -- then doubled in two more runs to make it 10-5, and Scully scored the final run on junior third baseman Chad Adams' (Ware, MA) RBI double.

Tufts had tied the game at 5-all with a run in the top of the eighth but junior All-New England reliever Adam Merritt (Seymour) struck out senior pinch hitter James Howard (Rockville Centre, NY) after a nine-pitch at-bat and got a ground ball to sophomore shortstop Christian Budzik (Cromwell) to leave the bags full. In that inning, an infield single, catcher's interference and consecutive walks following sophomore rightfielder Harry Brown's (Beverly, MA) sacrifice fly accounted for the tying run. Twice with the bases loaded in that inning, Tufts batters were hit by pitch, but were not awarded first base when ruled to have made no effort to avoid the pitch.

Merritt (3-0) did not allow a hit over the final two innings as the third Eastern pitcher, lowering his staff-leading ERA to 1.02.  Senior lefty Matt D'Orsi (West Hartford) took over for sophomore lefty starter Ron Buchetto (Clinton) with a runner on in the sixth in a tie game and retired the side. D'Orsi allowed a leadoff home run to senior DH Bryan Egan (Watervliet, NY) that gave the Jumbos their final lead before the Warriors surged ahead again with two runs in the seventh on Adam's two-out, two-run double down the left field line that plated Budzik (walk) and Sirois (single).

The top three hitters in the Eastern lineup – Sirois, Scully and Adams – drove in seven runs with five hits, and scored four times. Senior second baseman Corey Keane (Tolland) had a 16-game hitting streak stopped when he went 0-for-5. Keane led off the eighth with a drive to center field which senior Connor McDavitt (Holden, MA) caught on the warning track.

Brown and Egan each had two hits and drove in two runs for Tufts.

Eastern hosts Wheaton College Tuesday at 4 p.m. The Lyons are ranked fourth in New England.