MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Sophomores Hank Penders (Wethersfield) and Emmanuel Zaiter (Miami, FL) both hit their first career home runs and junior Mason Balmer (North Haven) had four hits in one game as the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team closed out its spring trip with two wins at the Ripken Experience Saturday.

Seven different players had at least two hits when No. 5 Eastern (10-1) defeated Salem State University, 16-7, in a morning game and the Warriors followed with a 5-4 decision over Worcester State University to extend their winning streak to five. Dating back to last year, Eastern has now won seven straight games decided by one run.

Eastern batted around in the first inning against Salem (2-6), scoring five runs and totalling 16 hits in all in support of sophomore lefty Dan Driscoll (Waterford) and three relievers. In his first start at Eastern after transferring from Mitchell College, Driscoll (3-0) allowed six hits over six innings, striking out seven and walking three.

After routing Worcester State (4-7), 10-1, Friday evening, Eastern struggled Saturday afternoon against the Lancer, who scored twice to tie the game in the third inning, and went ahead, 4-3, in the bottom of the seventh inning on No. 3 hitter Alex Sorenti-Burns' two-run home run. The Warriors pushed across the tying and go-ahead runs in the top of the eighth inning when senior catcher Matt Malcom (East Lyme) and junior cleanup hitter Ryan Parent (Southington) reached to open the inning and later scored on wild pitches (the Warriors had taken a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh, also on wild pitch).

 In the decisive eighth inning against Worcester, Malcom singled down the left field line for his first hit of the afternoon and advanced to third when Parent's potential double play ground ball to second was thrown into left field, allowing Parent to take second. Both players eventually scored on wild pitches.

Against Worcester, first-year junior righty transfer Finn Doherty (Milton, MA) won his first game at Eastern in his first decision with four innings of four-hit pitching in relief of sophomore righty Matthew Wootton (Milford). Doherty fanned six batter without a walk. He was charged with Worcester's tying and go-ahead runs in the seventh after Wootton struck out ten through the first five innings but left with the score tied.

Eastern was held to just eight singles by two Worcester pitcher, with senior Colby Linnell (Prospect) and junior Jason Claiborn (Prospect) both collecting two hits. Senior third baseman Brent Cosculluela  (Miami, FL) scored twice, leading off the second with a walk and scoring to make it 2-0, and giving the Warriors a 3-2 lead in the seventh when he singled to open the inning, moved to second on Linnell's single through the left side, to third on sophomore Ray Leonzi's (Trumbull) sacrifice bunt and riding home on a two-out, wild pitch while Claiborn was batting after an intentional walk.

With Eastern leading Salem, 7-2, the teams combined to score 14 runs over the final three innings.

Balmer and Penders each drove in four runs against Salem, Balmer doubling three times among four hits.  Balmer had a two-run double to spark Eastern's five-run first inning, doubled in the third, singled in the fifth and driving in two rum runs with another double in a four-run eighth inning. Making his first start after missing all of last year while rehabilitating an injury, Penders followed Balmer with his first career hit in the first inning – an RBI single. His home run was a two-run shot over the 256 sign down the right field line.

Zaiter walked and scored in the first inning and performed a rare feat by homering (leading off the third) for his first career hit. Zaiter reached five times with his home run, a double and two walks and scored four runs. Junior Alejandro Soriano (Hartford) reached three times with a single and two walks, driving in two runs and scoring three. The 5-6-7-8 batters in the order, Zaiter, Soriano, Balmer and Penders, combined for nine hits and 19 totals bases, drove in 12 runs and scored eight.

Eastern opens its northern and home season Tuesday at 4 p.m. against New England College.