Good Friday saw some good games, for those teams who don’t have the holiday weekend off Friday marked the start of several conference series.
Division I
Fordham Shuts Out St. Joesph’s Hawks: 5-0
An outstanding start from Reiss Knehr carried the Fordham Rams to a win in the second game of a three-game series with the St. Joesph Hawks. Knehr was phenomenal throwing 8 1/3 one-hit innings, his quest for the no-no ended on a lead off single in the seventh. However, he still earned his third win of the season with this gem of a performance, in which he struck out sixteen batters while walking just two.
All five Fordham runs came in the third inning. A double from Matthew Kozuch scored centerfielder Jason Lundy and got the rams on the board. Koauzh and Jake Baker, who was hit by a pitch, then scored on a single to right center by the catcher, Justin Bardwell. Bardwell would then score on a double down the right field line by Ryan Mahoney, the two were the only rams with multi-hit days.
After walking the lead off batter in the top of the ninth in a nine-pitch at bat and striking out the next hitter on six pitches Knehr left the game with pitch count of 123. Alvin Melendez closed the game, he allowed a single to the first Hawk he faced, but struck out the final two batters to preserve the shut out.
Fordham will go for the sweep of the St. Joe’s today at noon at home.
Stony Brook Swept in DH by UMass Lowell: 7-5 & 4-0
In game one the Seawolves nearly fought back against UMass Lowell, but their ninth inning rally fell just short. Trailing 7-3 in the top of the ninth Stony Brook was able to load the bases, and even drive in two runs to tighten the gap, but fell just short.
The Seawolves scored first, a single from Bobby Honeyman and a sacrifice fly from Michael Wilson drove in two runs in the fourth. However, UMass answered with seven runs of their own. Stony Brook tried to fight back, Brandon Janofsky drove in two runs in the final two innings on sac flys, and David Real added an RBI on a fielder’s choice in the ninth, but UMass was able to work out of trouble for the win.
Game two wouldn’t have the same dramatic finish as UMass was in control from the start. A four-run first is all they would need, as they held Stony Brook to just two hits.
Greg Marino got the start and the loss, but pitched well apart from a difficult first inning. He threw three scoreless innings, settling in after the four-run first, and struck out seven UMass batters. Sam Turcotte allowed just one-hit in his two innings of work.
Had the Seawolves bats been able to muster something against UMass’ excellent pitching they may have been able to come away with a split yesterday. Instead Stony Brook will look to salvage the final game of this series today at noon in Lowell.
Hofstra Doubled Up by Delaware: 8-4
Things looked good for the Pride early, a double from Steven Foster broke the scoreless tie in the second inning, then a two-run shot from David Leiderman put Hofstra up 3-0.
Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be enough, as Delaware came roaring back in the fourth. They had scored their first run following Leiderman’s homer in the third, then took the lead with a four run fourth inning.
Hofstra answered with one of their own in the fifth, on an RBI single from Mikey Riesner, making it a one-run game. But that would be all for the Pride as Delaware added three more runs in the late innings to secure the win.
Foster, Riesner, Leiderman, and Brad Witkowski all had multi-hit days, as the Pride had just two fewer hits, but they weren’t able to cash in as often as Delaware was.
Hofstra looks to get back on track for game two of this series, which will take place today at 1 P.M.
Division II
Adelphi Dominates St. Rose: 16-2
The Golden Knights came to Garden City for the first game of this conference series, and Adelphi was clearly ready for them. The Panthers put on an offensive showcase scoring 16 runs on thirteen hits during the dominant win.
The game was scoreless for the first 3 1/2 innings, but once Adelphi began to score nothing could stop them. Brandon Morse started the action with a two-run home run in the fourth. St. Rose answered with two of their own in the fifth, but a balk by the St. Rose pitcher put Adephi right back on top that same inning.
Sloppy play plagued St. Rose in the next inning, as Adelphi scored four runs thanks to a pair of errors and a sac fly from Tyler Warshefskie. A single from Warshefskie in the next inning added two more runs, but not before Morse drove in his third RBI on a single of his own.
The Panthers then topped it off with a six run eighth inning, just for good measure. It began with a solo homer from Michael Cattani and ended with a bases-clearing three-run double by Steven Withers. In between two more runs were scored on a ground out by Thomas Colombo and a single from Lucas Terwilliger.
Morse, Warshefskie and Brett Malm all had multiple hits, however they might not have come away with the win had it not been for their pitching. Matthew O’Connor earned his third win of the season throwing 8 1/3 innings of five-hit two-run ball while striking out five and walking two. Andrew Sesto closed the game giving up one hit in the final 2/3 of an inning of work.
Today, this series continues with a doubleheader between these two, first pitch is at noon.
Molloy Shut Out by Mercy: 3-0
A good start from Ronald Bauer goes to wast as Mercy’s pitching totally shut down Molloy’s bats. Bauer allowed just two runs on four hits in his six innings of work, but still got the loss thanks to the complete game shut out thrown on the other side.
Molloy stranded all six baserunners that they had, including two in the bottom of the ninth. A walk and a single by Elijah Leerdam brought the tying run to the plate with one out for the Lions, but back to back strike out would spell doom for Molloy.
Anthony Vano pitched two scoreless innings to keep the game as close as possible, but despite great efforts on both sides of the field Molloy couldn’t get enough going to pull out the win.
Game two of this series will be played today at 3 P.M. as Molloy looks to knot things at one game apiece.
NJCAA
Nassau CCC Walks Off Against Suffolk CCC: 11-10
Nassau pulled out a dramatic win against Suffolk, walking off after scoring seven runs in the bottom of the ninth to complete the comeback.
No box score available.
These two will face off for a doubleheader at Suffolk today at noon.
