FREDERICK, MD – If the first start of the 2022 season for Eastern Connecticut State University baseball's new number one starter in junior right-handed pitcher Billy Oldham (Brookfield) is a sign of what is to come the rest of the year, the Warriors (2-0) new ace will be a force to be reckon with. Punching out a career-high 14 batters while only walking one and allowing one hit across seven innings (96 pitches), Oldham's (1-0) game one start helped propel Eastern to a 5-0 victory over Hood College.

The game one win snapped Hood's four-game win streak and was the first time in which the two teams faced each other on the diamond.

Momentum carried over into the second game in which the Warriors came from behind to sweep the doubleheader with a 5-2 win over the Blazers (4-5) at FCC Baseball Field in Frederick, Maryland on Saturday.

After allowing a first inning walk around his three opening frame strikeouts, Oldham would retire the next five batters before allowing a hit to junior outfielder Andrew Perkins with one out in the third. The next six batters who faced the right-hander would punch out as Oldham retired the final 14 batters he faced before exiting after seven innings of one-hit ball and recording 14 strikeouts on the day.

First-year right-handed pitcher Dutch DeProspero matched Oldham's stellar outing, allowing just three hits scattered across six innings while striking out four, walking two, hitting a batter, and allowing no runs.

The Warriors would break through against the Blazer bullpen in the seventh inning as a pair of errors allowed senior shortstop Noah Plantamuro (Bristol) to reach third after singling and then score after an error by Perkins in right field allowed junior second baseman Brent Cosculluela (Miami, FL) to reach with no one out.

A single by senior first baseman Dean Slavin (Tappan, NY) along with another Hood fielding error and two walks given up by first-year pitcher Frank Spiade allowed Eastern to gain some breathing room in the form of a 5-0 lead in the eighth inning en route to their first victory of the 2022 season.

In relief of Oldham, junior pitcher Nathan Furino (East Haven) pitched two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out three of the eight batters he faced.

Hood College's top three batting average leaders in sophomore first baseman Stephen Sommer (.467), sophomore outfielder Tyler Schwarzman (.360), and sophomore infielder Alex Jenkins (.333) were stifled by Oldham.

Having started all seven games up to today, Sommer and Schwarzman had recorded hits in six of those games while reaching base safely in seven and six games respectively. Jenkins recorded hits in four of seven games while reaching base in six. All three batters went a combined 0-for-8 against Oldham with seven strikeouts.

In the second game, Eastern would strike first after senior third baseman Luke Broadhurst (Stafford) walked to lead off the second inning. Graduate first baseman Josh Tower (Auburn, MA), making his first start in a Warrior uniform, capitalized with a single before senior outfielder Ryan Bagdasarian (Glastonbury) laced a double to score Broadhurst and give the Warriors an early 1-0 lead.

With two outs and a running on second in the third inning, the Blazers would respond as a Schwarzman single followed by a double from first-year third baseman Cristian Reyna against junior left-handed starter Aidan Dunn (Westfield, MA), put Hood College back ahead, 2-1, after three innings of play.

The Warriors would mount a response against the right-handed sophomore pitcher Colby Childs who started the game for Hood in the fifth inning. With two runners on following junior utility transfer Zach Donahue's (South Windsor) first hit with Eastern and a hit batter, senior outfielder Jack Rich (Meriden) singled home Donahue and senior outfielder John Mesagno (Tappan, NY) was brought in on a sacrifice play by Broadhurst to regain the Warrior advantage, 3-2.

A single by sophomore outfielder Jason Claiborn (Prospect) in the sixth and a sacrifice error in the eighth with Claiborn at the plate helped Eastern score four unanswered runs en route to their 5-2 victory over the Blazers, earning their first doubleheader sweep of the 2022 season.

In his first start of the 2022 season, Aidan Dunn went three innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out three. In relief, senior right-hander Bryan Albee (Killingly) threw four shutout innings while allowing just one hit and striking out one batter, earning himself the win in relief.

Making his Eastern debut, transfer graduate right-handed pitcher Tommy Benincaso (Norwalk) rounded out the Warriors' bullpen for the day going two shutout innings with two strikeouts to earn his first career save. As a team, Eastern's bullpen went eight innings, allowed no runs on three hits, struck out six batters, and gave up no walks for the day.

For Hood, the trio of Sommer, Schwarzman, and Perkins finished a combined 1-for-17 with one hit, one RBI, and one run while striking out eight times in the doubleheader.

The Blazer defense committed eight errors across both games, resulting in six unearned runs for the Warriors, including all five runs in game one.

Eastern will return to action tomorrow as they travel to St. Mary's City, Maryland to take on St. Mary's College at Hawk's Nest with first pitch slated for 11:00 AM. This will be the first meeting between the two teams in the history of their programs.