by Danny Gatta
On Saturday afternoon, Stony Brook and UMass Lowell got together for an in-conference double header. UMass Lowell took game one 2-1, while the Seawolves dominated game two with a score of 5-0.
Not much offense materialized in the first game, as Stony Brook’s Chad Lee and UMass Lowell’s Andrew Ryan both provided strong pitching performances.
Lee ran into some trouble in the fourth. An error followed by a single and a walk loaded the bases. Mark Tumosa delivered an RBI infield single to give his team a 1-0 lead.
Photo Credit: Danny Gatta
The Seawolves answered in the bottom of the inning. Singles by Jack Parenty and Dylan Resk put runners on the corners. Casey Baker lined a single to shallow center to score the tying run.
Andrew Ryan was excellent for the River Hawks. He finished the day allowing one run over six and two thirds innings, striking out seven. Stony Brook coach Matt Senk had some high praise for Ryan.
“Ryan’s a solid pitcher. He pounds the strike zone, has a plus slider, and has excellent control. He did a great job against us today.”
UMass Lowell would retake the lead in the eighth. A double by Ian Strom over the head on the left fielder scored Oscar Marchena from first.
The River Hawks bullpen was solid, holding the Seawolves to one hit and no runs. Freshman pitcher Nick Rand entered for the save, and helped his team take game one of the double header.
Game two featured freshman pitcher Brett Clarke for Stony Brook and Steve Xirinchas for UMass Lowell. Clarke was throwing heat early, fanning four of the first six batters he faced.
The Seawolves chased Xirinchas in the second. After a walk and error put runners on the corners, Giles, Buckhout, and Handley strung together three straight singles, giving Stony Brook a 3-0 lead.
Clarke’s day was over after beginning the fifth, allowing a single and a walk. He walked three, struck out five, and allowed just one hit in four innings of work. Teddy Rodliff entered in the fifth, and pitched the rest of the game for the Seawolves.
Stony Brook tacked on a couple of more runs in the fifth off a two run double by Jeremy Giles. Real and Bobby Honeyman crossed the plate extending their lead to 5-0.
After losing game one, Senk was glad his team was able to bounce back and take the second game. He thought their biggest problem in both games was capitalizing on their opportunities to score.
“I feel that we left too many guys on base in today. I don’t think we changed our approach much, we just had some better contact and better luck in game two than we did in game one.”
After splitting today’s double-header with the River Hawks, the Seawolves improved their conference record to 6-3. They will conclude their series with UMass Lowell tomorrow at 12pm at Joe Nathan Field.
