Schmidt's three homers, ten RBIs lift Pioneers
Dan Cofiniotis
Issue date: 4/30/09 Section: Sports
The Sacred Heart University baseball team had quite the impressive weekend against Monmouth University as the Pioneers took three out of four in the weekend series.
Senior Paul Schmidt set a new school record on Sunday by going a perfect 5-5 at the plate, hitting three homers, and setting the single game record for RBIs by driving in 10.
Much of the offensive help can be credited to a lineup of veterans who drove in a total of 48 runs in four games.
Along with Schmidt, junior Jeff Heppner was named the Akadema/Northeast Conference Player of the Week.
Heppner hit .500 (9-18) for the week, including two doubles, two homers, and eight runs batted in within five games.
He leads the team with ten homers to go along with his Northeast Conference best 47 RBIs. Heppner also is four RBIs away from tying the single season record set by Bill Packer in 1982 with 51.
"This weekend was a huge series for us," said sophomore Matt Fitton, "Being able to take 3 of 4 from Monmouth at their field was a huge confident booster."
The first game of the weekend series between Sacred Heart and Monmouth was a hard fought battle in which the Pioneers came out on top by a score of 19-11.
Senior Frank Bainer had four hits and five RBIs along with junior Mike Drowne who also drove in five runs on three hits to give the Pioneers the edge.
For much of the game, it was a back and forth matchup where both teams answered each other after establishing a lead within the first six innings.
The seventh inning was when the Pioneer offense clicked and broke the game wide open.
Heppner hit his ninth homer of the year - a two-run shot after a walk by senior Tyler Santos which gave the Pioneers a 10-8 lead.
Schmidt singled with two outs and went to second on a wild pitch, which put him in scoring position. Bainer drove him in with a single, making the score 11-8.
Freshman Hunter Phillips followed Schmidt with a single and both he and Bainer scored on another single by Drowne to increase the Pioneer lead to 13-8.
Senior Paul Schmidt set a new school record on Sunday by going a perfect 5-5 at the plate, hitting three homers, and setting the single game record for RBIs by driving in 10.
Much of the offensive help can be credited to a lineup of veterans who drove in a total of 48 runs in four games.
Along with Schmidt, junior Jeff Heppner was named the Akadema/Northeast Conference Player of the Week.
Heppner hit .500 (9-18) for the week, including two doubles, two homers, and eight runs batted in within five games.
He leads the team with ten homers to go along with his Northeast Conference best 47 RBIs. Heppner also is four RBIs away from tying the single season record set by Bill Packer in 1982 with 51.
"This weekend was a huge series for us," said sophomore Matt Fitton, "Being able to take 3 of 4 from Monmouth at their field was a huge confident booster."
The first game of the weekend series between Sacred Heart and Monmouth was a hard fought battle in which the Pioneers came out on top by a score of 19-11.
Senior Frank Bainer had four hits and five RBIs along with junior Mike Drowne who also drove in five runs on three hits to give the Pioneers the edge.
For much of the game, it was a back and forth matchup where both teams answered each other after establishing a lead within the first six innings.
The seventh inning was when the Pioneer offense clicked and broke the game wide open.
Heppner hit his ninth homer of the year - a two-run shot after a walk by senior Tyler Santos which gave the Pioneers a 10-8 lead.
Schmidt singled with two outs and went to second on a wild pitch, which put him in scoring position. Bainer drove him in with a single, making the score 11-8.
Freshman Hunter Phillips followed Schmidt with a single and both he and Bainer scored on another single by Drowne to increase the Pioneer lead to 13-8.
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