HARTFORD, Conn. - Sophomore RHP Michael Aceto (Hamden, Conn.) allowed four hits and three earned runs with five strikeouts over six-plus innings to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 5-3 victory over the visiting Brandeis University Judges in baseball action on a cold and windy afternoon at Murren Family Field and DiBenedetto Stadium. Trinity improves to 3-2 and Brandeis drops to 2-3.  Junior 1B Sean Meth (Sands Point, N.Y.) and rookie 3B Tyler Bernstein (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) had two hits apiece for the Bantams.  Trinity heads to Virginia for a Southern swing beginning with a game at Bridgewater on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Aceto escaped the first inning with minimal damage despite surrendering a leadoff single to Brandeis' Sam Nugent and walking two.  Drew Michaud drove in a run on a bases-loaded, sacrifice fly for the Judges but Aceto struck out the next batter to end the threat.  Trinity answered in the bottom of the first, scoring an unearned run thanks to consecutive singles by Bernstein and junior SS Jack Mathews (Westport, Conn.).  Bernstein advanced to third on an errant pick off throw after his leadoff, infield hit and scored on Mathews' single to left field moments later.

Aceto did not yield a hit over his next five innings and Trinity got to Brandeis starter Sean Decker-Jacoby for three runs in the fourth frame.  Bantam rookie OF William Sawyer (Easthampton, Mass.) led off with a double and scored on a bad throw to first after classmate Dylan Schnitzer (Huntington, N.Y.) had legged out an infield hit to shortstop.  After Bersntein single and a passed ball, Mathews drove in Schnitzer on a groundout and Meth hit in Bernstein on a single up the middle to make the score, 4-1, after four innings.

Both teams received quality middle relief, as Jakob Newman tossed 3.2 innings of scoreless ball with three K's and Bantam junior RHP Sam Craven (Wakefield, R.I.) took over for Aceto in the seventh and did not allow a hit until the ninth.  The Judges did get within a run at 4-3 thanks to singles by Jordan Greenaway, Justin Keeler, and Nugent before Craven relieved Aceto and recorded the final out on a batter's interference during a steal attempt.

Trinity got an insurance run in the eighth inning on a walk and a steal by junior C Jack Ryan (Bethesda, Md.) and a two-out, RBI single to left by senior Patrick Dillon (Bronx, N.Y.).  Greenaway led off the top of the last inning with a hit off Craven, but with one out Bantam senior closer Cooper McGrath (South Hamilton, Mass.) came in and struck out two batters to collect his second save of the spring.  Aceto improved to 1-1 and Decker-Jacoby dropped to 0-2.  

Bernstein was 2-for-4 and scored twice and Meth was 2-for-5 with an RBI.  Ryan reached base safely every time with a hit, three walks, and a hit-by-pitch and stole a base.  Trinity stole five bases in six tries but left 15 runners on base.  Sawyer's double was the only extra-base hit of the day and he also was hit by pitches twice and stole base.  Schnitzer was 1-for-3 with two walks and Mathews had a hit, two RBIs, a walk, and a stolen base.  Nugent and Greenaway had two hits each for Brandeis.