CNBNews

In the resumption of Saturday's game, the Saint Joseph's bats exploded for 10 runs over the course of the fifth and sixth innings as the Hawks cruised to a 14-5 win. Kancylarz was 3-for-4 with a run scored and four runs batted in, while Daniel Thorpe tossed six shutout innings in relief.

Wagner (2-12) struck first on Saturday afternoon, scoring four runs in the top of the second inning as light snow began to fall. The Hawks answered in the bottom half, tying the game at 4-4 on a two-run double by Cirillo, a throwing error, and a single by Kancylarz.

The Seahawks went ahead in the top of the third as Chase Gray hit into a fielder's choice that allowed Nick Dini to score and put Wagner on top, 5-4.

Chris Hueth led off the bottom of the third with a walk before John Brue stepped to the plate. The snow soon became too heavy for play to continue, and the game was suspended with Brue at the plate and a 1-2 count.

Upon the resumption of play on Sunday, the Hawks were able to get runners on second and third with two outs in the third, but reliever Nathan Hunt was able to induce a groundout to end the inning. 

Saint Joseph's (8-11) eventually broke through in the fifth, hanging another four-spot on the board to take an 8-5 lead. Hueth started the frame off by reaching on a dropped third strike, then stole second. Cirillo was then hit by a pitch with two outs to bring up Renner, who singled to left to plate Hueth with the tying run. Kevin Kratochwill followed with a single of his own to put the Hawks on top before Kancylarz singled to right to score two and extend the lead to three.

It was more of the same for SJU in the sixth as the Hawks batted around for the second consecutive inning. Hueth, Brue, and Collin Forgey started the inning off with three straight singles; Hueth came in to score to give the Hawks a 9-5 advantage. Cirillo was hit by a pitch once again to load the bases for Renner, who ripped a double to left center to extend the lead to 11-5.

After a pitching change, Kratochwill was hit by a pitch to re-load the bases for Kancylarz, who drew a walk to bring home Cirillo and push the lead to seven. Mike Muha then hit into a fielder's choice that set off a chain of events that led Kancylarz to score from first. Muha's sharp groundball was fielded by Dini, who tagged third for the force out before throwing home. Catcher Jason Gordon tagged out Renner before throwing back to Dini in an attempt at a triple play, but his throw sailed into left field, allowing Kancylarz to score and make it a 13-5 game.

Brian O'Keefe then followed with a single to score Muha with the game's final run.

After the Hawk offense had its say, Thorpe did the rest, holding the Seahawks to four hits over six shutout innings in relief of Jordan Carter. Thorpe improved to 2-2 with the win, while Hunt took the loss for Wagner to fall to 0-1.

In the second game, SJU jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Wagner battled back to tie it in the eighth. The Hawks answered right back in the bottom of the frame, scoring twice, before holding on for a 6-5 win.

After Wagner starter Matt Morris got two quick outs in the bottom of the second, the Hawk bats went to work once again, pushing three runs across to take an early lead. Greg Kumpel started things off with a single before Brue walked to put two aboard. Cirillo followed with a single and advanced to second as the throw went to third. Brue slid in safely as Kumpel scored to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.

Renner reached as a groundball went through the legs of Ben Ruta at third and allowed Brue to score before Kratochwill doubled down the left field line to score Cirillo and give SJU a 3-0 advantage, chasing Morris from the game.

The Hawks extended the lead in the third, tacking on a run on after Muha led off with a double and came around to score on a single by Kumpel.

The Seahawks cut the lead in half in the fourth on a two-run double by Jayson Keel, and got within a run on a wild pitch in the top of the fifth.

Wagner had an opportunity to tie it up in the seventh as Ian Miller reached on bunt single, stole second, and was sacrificed to third with one out. However, Jimmy Yacabonis came in and notched back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat.

The Seahawks finally got things tied up in the eighth, using four walks to score Keel with the tying run.

Hueth led off the bottom of the eighth for Saint Joseph's with a single and advanced to third on a single by Brue two batters later. Cirillo drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases for Renner, whose groundball to second allowed Hueth to score the go-ahead run. Gray's relay attempt sailed wide of first, also allowing Brue to score on the error.

Wagner had one last comeback attempt as Nick Alfano led off with a single and eventually came around to score after an error on a double play attempt. However, with the tying run on first, Tommy Mazurkiewicz ripped a long fly ball down the left field line that was snagged in foul territory by Hueth before he slammed into the fence. The junior held onto the ball to secure the win for the Hawks.

James Harrity earned the win, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the eighth before allowing an unearned run in the ninth to improve to 2-0. Anthony Battaglia took the loss for the Seahawks, falling to 1-2.

The Hawks will hit the road for their next five games. SJU travels to Bucknell on Tuesday for a 2:30 p.m. contest with the Bison before opening Atlantic 10 play at Temple on Friday.