by Mike Guido
After a number of games being cancelled due to weather, it was a tough day for Long Island baseball. Though Long Island went 1-5 on the day, there were some bright spots in particular for the teams competing yesterday. We are still early in and growth is visible with these ball clubs.
Division I:
Fordham Splits With Canisius
The Rams snapped a six-game losing streak on a walkoff single by Brian Goulard to score Reiss Knehr.
It was a wild game, with the Rams battling back to tie the game three times when trailing including erasing a 4-1 deficit in the bottom of the sixth inning and a 5-4 deficit in the bottom of the eighth.
Ryan Mahoney‘s two-run shot in the sixth inning tied the ballgame up at 4-4 and Mark Donadio‘s RBI double scored Justin Bardwell to tie the game in the ninth.
Knehr, typically a starting pitcher, pinch-hit in the ninth inning and reached on a throwing error. He was sacrificed to second base by CF Jason Lundy before scoring on the game-winning hit.
The winning pitcher was Brandon Martin, who earned his first ‘W’ of the season. Donadio paced the offense with three hits, Goulard and Mahoney had two each.
They lost the second game, but will be back in action this morning at 10:30am to close out their series.
St. John’s receives first digit in the L column
It was only a matter of time. St. John’s, who has earned a spot in the national rankings after their magnificent run, finally took their first loss against No. 9 East Carolina 7-4. That nine-game run included two wins against top ten ball clubs including North Carolina and the defending champions, Coastal Carolina. The Red Storm have given themselves an intimidating tone behind their name and are still a threat after their first loss.
Altogether, the Red Storm played well on the offensive side recording 11 hits with three players posting a multi-hit game. John Valente continued his tear while going three-for-five with an RBI double in the sixth. That is his fourth three-hit game on the season making him a consistent force in this lineup. Josh Shaw also put three hits on the board driving in a run while Jamie Galazin recorded another two base knocks. Jesse Berardi was able to cross the plate twice to go along with a hit. Anthony Brocato and Robbie Knightes mustered up a couple of hits as well.
Mike LoPresti got the start for St. John’s and put together a decent outing–giving up three runs on four hits in 4.2 innings. After surrendering a run in the first, he pitched well going into the fifth where he gave up two more. Joe Kelly dominated out of the pen being perfect through 2.1 innings only surrendering a walk.
St. John’s will face Western Carolina on Sunday at 11:00 AM seeking to get back on track.
Stony Brook falls to 1-7 down in Florida
The rough start for the Seawolves continues after an 8-4 loss to Central Florida. With their only win coming against Presbyterian last Saturday, Stony Brook is still searching for that spark to get them on the right track.
Stony Brook took a three-run lead into the fourth inning, but from then on, it all went downhill. UCF scored four runs in the bottom half of the fourth to give them a one run lead. The Seawolves were able to tie up the game in the fifth with a Toby Handley HR, but that would all they could muster up on the day. Central Florida scored four more runs going into the eighth inning ultimately sealing the victory for them.
Handley had a great day for Stony Brook, putting up two hits with a solo shot in the fifth. He was the big bat in the lineup for them yesterday. Freshman Michael Wilson was able to drive in a run while collecting one hit. Casey Baker, Chris Hamilton, and Nick Grande also posted hits.
The Seawolves struggled on the mound on Saturday. Sam Turcotte struggled this time out, allowing four runs on six hits in only 3.1 innings while also posting five walks. Cole Creighton got the loss in Saturday’s game while allowing a run on three hits in two innings.
Stony Brook looks to rebound against UCF on Sunday.
Hofstra drop two in doubleheader
The Pride was unable to pull out a win in a doubleheader against Charleston Southern in South Carolina on Saturday. They suffered a 9-3 loss in game one and a 4-1 loss in game two. It was an up-and-down series for Hofstra, as their offense and pitching didn’t thrive at the same time where their defense plagued them through both games.
The Pride posted nine hits in game one with Steven Foster, Mikey Riesner, and Sean Rausch recording multiple hits and driving in a run each. Brad Witkowski, Vito Friscia, and Teddy Cillis also had hits in the game. John Rooney got the start and the loss in the game, throwing 5.2 innings while allowing four runs, only two earned, on five hits. Andrew Mundy came in relief and couldn’t get over the hump. He allowed five runs, only two earned, on five hits in 2.1 innings.
Hofstra was only able to produce four hits in game two as the offense seemed to shut down. Foster, Friscia, and David Leiderman were the only ones to record hits with Foster having the only multi-hit game. Rob Weissheier had their only RBI with a sacrifice fly without recording a hit. Jorge Marrero put together a quality start, allowing only two earned runs in 6.2 innings while allowing eight hits. Michael James was perfect in relief through an inning and a third.
Hofstra will look to come back on Sunday against Charleston Southern in the final game of the series.
Molloy takes 12-5 loss to Merrimack
Molloy continues to struggle to get their feet off the ground as they took another big loss to Merrimack College, falling to 1-7 on the season. They put together a desperation rally with two outs in the ninth, but it was too little, too late.
As Molloy’s offense started piling up runs, Merrimack’s lineup would not let up. Molloy put together eight hits on the day with Angelo Navetta and Elijah Leerdam posting multi-hit games. Leerdam drove in two runs on a double in the ninth while Mike Rahn and Joe Nastasi drove in a run each. Rahn along with Kevin Podell, Anthony Alberghina, and Anthony Galanoudis each recorded hits as well.
Ron Bauer got the start for the Lions pitching seven innings, while giving up four earned runs on eight hits with nine strikeouts. Lucas Burton struggled in relief allowing three runs on only one hit without recording an out. Shawn Klotsche then came in relief allowing four runs on two hits in only one inning.
Molloy has a doubleheader against Merrimack on Sunday, where they look to add two more wins to their record.
