MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Bentley baseball team totaled six home runs, including two by Jared Berardino and a grand slam by Curt Heath, as the Falcons opened its Myrtle Beach trip with a doubleheader split against St. Thomas Aquinas Friday.
 
Bentley 9, St. Thomas Aquinas 12
Nick Pappas clubbed his first home run of the season, and Jared Berardino hit his second of 2026, but the Falcons lost their first game of the weekend, 12-9.

Bentley trailed 5-1 entering the third inning, but Pappas' two-run homer cut the deficit to 5-3. Brendan Sencaj scored on the dinger after he reached base on an error.

Two batters after Pappas' homer, Berardino launched a solo shot to center field. With just two swings of the bat, Bentley's four-run deficit was down to one, 5-4.

The teams traded a run in the fourth inning, with David VanderZouwen providing an RBI single for the Falcons. The Spartans scored two runs in the sixth inning to take an 8-5 lead, but Bentley rallied for three runs to tie the game, 8-8, in the top of the seventh.

Tommy Bolton began that rally with a leadoff walk, and Sencaj followed by getting hit by a pitch. Pappas came through with an RBI single, as Sencaj moved to third base to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Berardino smacked a single that easily scored Sencaj, and Jake Maydak grounded into a fielder's choice that allowed Pappas to safely touch home plate.

The tie game didn't last long, however, as the Spartans matched Bentley's three-run rally with three runs of their own in the bottom of the seventh.

Curt Hearth was a perfect 4-for-4 in the game. Pappas, Berardino, and Stan DeMartinis III each finished with two hits.
 

Bentley 15, St. Thomas Aquinas 8 (7 inn.)
Bentley set the tone early with a six-run first inning to beat St. Thomas in Friday's second game, 15-8.

Playing as the home team, Bentley entered the bottom of the first in a 1-0 hole. Jared Berardino quickly solved that problem. He slugged a one-out solo home run, his second of the day and third of the season. The rally continued when Nick Pappas was hit by a pitch, and then Stan DeMartinis III and Brendan Sencaj both drew a free pass to load the bases.

But the bases weren't loaded for long. Following Sencaj's at-bat, Curt Heath stepped to the plate and belted a grand slam to right field.

As if that weren't enough, Mark Axelsen drew a walk and he moved into scoring position on a double hit by Tommy Goonan. David VanderZouwen came through with an RBI base hit to push Bentley's lead to 6-1 after one inning.

The Falcon bats stayed hot in the very next stanza, as Bentley rallied for five runs in the second inning. Berardino and Pappas led off the inning with consecutive base hits. After DeMartinis hit into a fielder's choice, Sencaj delivered a three-run shot – his first of the season.

The rally continued with Heath and Axelsen hitting consecutive singles, and then Goonan followed with an RBI single. The final run of the inning was VanderZouwen's sac fly that scored Axelsen.

DeMartinis' first home run of the season was a two-run bomb that gave Bentley a 13-4 lead in the third inning.

Heath finished the game 3-for-4 with a couple of runs scored in addition to his four RBI. Berardino, Pappas, and Goonan each collected a couple of hits in the win.

The Falcons remain in Myrtle Beach to take on Bridgeport Saturday, Feb. 21, at 11 a.m.