MANSFIELD, Conn. – Sophomore lefty Dan Driscoll (Waterford) pitched a no-hitter through seven full innings and combined on a two-hitter with two teammates as the No. 2 nationally-ranked Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team completed a Little East Conference sweep of Plymouth State University with an 8-0 victory in the second game of a doubleheader Sunday afternoon at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.

A first-year transfer making his home debut, Driscoll (4-0) allowed just one baserunner (leadoff hit-by-pitch in the third) through 7 1/3 innings before Danny Quinn sent a clean line drive over the leap of senior shortstop Zach Donahue (South Windsor) into left field on a 1-1 pitch for the first hit of the game for Plymouth (5-7, 0-2 LEC).  Driscoll threw 68 of his 97 pitches for strikes before giving way to senior righty Tim Pfaffenbichler (Windsor Locks) after striking out Owen Baum for the second out of the eighth. Driscoll struck out 12 without a walk, getting at least two strikeouts in each of five innings.

Eastern (13-5), the two-time defending LEC regular-season champion and defending LEC tournament titlist, opened its LEC season with a 14-0 rout of the Panthers in the first game of the doubleheader. Batting eighth, first-year sophomore transfer Ray Leonzi (Trumbull) drove in five runs in the game with three hits to spark the Warriors' 14-hit attack to back the three-hit pitching of three Eastern pitchers.

Sophomore righty Matthew Wootton (Milford) won his second game in two decisions by pitching a two-hitter with eight strikeouts and two walks over the first five innings of the opener.

In the doubleheader, six Eastern pitchers struck out 22 and walked only three, giving up only five hits in 16 innings, and the defense did not commit an error.
Offensively, Eastern batters combined for 21 hits -- seven of them for extra bases – and benefited by 13 walks, two hit-by-pitch and five wild pitches in the sweep. The team stole eight bases in nine tries.

The leadoff hitter, Donahue reached base seven times in the doubleheader. He was 5-for-6 with a double and triple, drove in four runs and scored four; Leonzi reached five times with four hits (including a double) and a walk, drove in the five first-game runs and scored three on the day; first-year cleanup hitter Jared Clark (Bristol) reached four times with three hits – including a double and triple -- and a walk, drove in three runs and scored three; senior catcher Matt Malcom (East Lyme) reached four times with a single and three walks, scored four runs and stole four bases.

Eastern visits Wheaton College Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in a non-conference game.