On a gorgeous day for baseball, teams in our coverage area played a bevy of exciting double-headers, highlighted by four different walk-off victories.
Division-I:
Stony Brook: The Seawolves were swept in a double-header against Albany University, dropping the first game 16-4 before losing 4-3 in the second. Albany raced out to a massive lead early in the first game after scoring 8 runs in the third inning and 6 in the fourth. The Danes tee’d off against Stony Brook starter Bret Clarke and reliever Teddy Rodliff as all nine hitters cashed in with at least 1 RBI. The second game was a lot more competitive as Stony Brook jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning before Albany struck back with three runs in the second inning. Stony Brook managed to tie the game up at 3-3 in the seventh inning, However, Connor Powers hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh for the win. The Seawolves have dropped three straight against American East rival Albany now, losing their grip at the top of the conference standings.
Hofstra: The Pride’s recent skid continued as they dropped another against CAA rival Elon, 6-3. The Phoenix dominated most of the way, plating runs in the first, second and fourth innings to support starting pitcher George Kirby’s 7-inning, 13 strikeout effort in which he allowed no earned runs. Once Kirby left the mound, Hofstra found some success against Elon relievers, but their comeback effort fell short as their record drops to 14-13.
Fordham: The top team in our power rankings bounced back from a two-game skid with a double-header sweep against Atlantic-10 foe, La Salle – winning the first game 4-3 and the second 12-8. The first game saw RHP Ben Greenberg improve to 5-1 on the season after tossing 7.2 innings and allowing three runs. The Rams jumped out to a 4-0 lead by the fourth inning, highlighted by a pair of homers from Jake MacKenzie and C.J Vasquez, and staved off La Salle’s late rally as Kyle Martin got his fifth save of the year. Fordham’s bats really came alive in the second game as they jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first inning. Billy Godrick opened the inning with a leadoff homer, before the versatile Reiss Knehr knocked a grand slam. Knehr had 6 RBIs in the game. Fordham improves to 21-11-1 on the year.
St. John’s: The Red Storm swept a double-header against Creighton, taking the first game 5-1 before rallying in the second for a 4-3 win. With the score knotted at 1 in the third inning of the first game, a four-run inning gave the team a comfortable lead they would never relinquish. Kevin Magee grabbed the win for St. John’s, going a strong 7 innings while allowing 1 run and striking out 7. The second game was a pitcher’s duel through and through until the end, as it was scoreless through the first seven innings. Michael Lopresti went 7.2 innings for St. John’s and allowed just one run before his relievers gave up two unearned runs in the ninth. The Storm rallied at home in the bottom of the ninth after Brandon Miller singled with the bases loaded to drive in two runs, followed by a walkoff, two RBI single for Josh Shaw. The Red Storm is now 22-10 overall and a comfortable 6-0 in Big East play.
Division-II:
Molloy vs. NYIT: Molloy and NYIT split a double-header, with the Bears taking the first 1-0, before the Lions broke out with a 9-2 victory in the second. In the first game, Kevin Hiss and Alex Passarella dueled it out on the mound as Passarella went 8 innings and struck out six while allowing only 5 runners on base, while Hiss took the loss after a strong 8.2 inning pitched with 6 strikeouts and one run allowed. That lone allowed run was the only scored and a walk-off game winner for shortstop Ben McNeill – a bright moment for a team that has been struggling. Molloy’s offense woke up in the second game, as they gave starter Anthony Vano plenty of run support for his 7-inning complete game performance. Reigning ECC Rookie of the Week Matt Overton hit his first home run of the season and the well-rounded Molloy offense had seven different players with at least one hit.
LIU Post: The Pioneers have now won seven of their last eight games after a double-header sweep of Southern Connecticut State, winning the first game 4-3 and the second 7-5. The first game went 11 innings and ended on a walk-off RBI single for Dave Brehm, who went 3-for-6 with 2 RBIs in the game. Noah Lorenzo got the start for the Pioneers, but fellow starting pitcher Julien Arcos got the win after coming on in relief in the eleventh inning and retiring three batters in just six pitches. In a much shorter, 7-inning second game, the Pioneers won 7-5 after a four-run rally in the sixth inning. All four of the Pioneers sixth inning runs were unearned as Southern Connecticut’s sloppy fielding resulted in four errors.
Adelphi: After eight straight wins, Adelphi’s winning streak came to an end Saturday as they dropped two close games against The College of St. Rose, 4-3 and 6-5. The Panthers started strong as Thomas Colombo knocked a three-run shot to right in the first inning. However, the offense couldn’t muster anything more the rest of the game as they went scoreless thereafter while only having 4 hits over the next eight innings. Meanwhile, a three-run sixth inning for the Golden Knights gave the team the lead for good. The second game was even more disappointing for the Panthers as a late rally gave them a 5-4 lead heading into the ninth inning. Reliever Max Steele came on for the save in the ninth and allowed three walks, the last of which came with the bases loaded and gave the Golden Knights a “walk-off walk.” Adelphi hitters were only credited with two RBIs in the second contest as an array of St. Rose errors basically kept them in the game.
Pace: The Setters split their double-header against American International College, dominating the first game 9-0, before wilting on offense in a 4-1 loss. Ryan Aquino got the start for Pace in the first game and improved to 3-1 on the season, pitching a complete game while striking out 10 and allowing only four baserunners. Pace scored early and often and were aided by an atrocious 6 errors from American International. Matt Almonte dominated for the Setters, going 5-for-5 with three RBIs. The second game was a completely different story as Pace’s hitters were the ones being dominated. Jason Coscio turned in his best performance of the season for American International, pitching a complete game while allowing five hits and just one unearned run.
Division-III:
SUNY Old Westbury: SUNY Old Westbury won a pair of high-scoring games against St. Joseph’s College (L.I.), taking the first 15-6 and the second 9-8. With St. Joseph’s leading 6-4 after five innings, Old Westbury broke the game open with a massive 8-run inning. John Fogarty had 5 RBIs for Old Westbury, while catcher John Condon reached base often, going 5-for-6 while scoring 3 runs. Vinny Negri only lasted 3.2 innings for the Panthers, but Matt Bohenek looked great in relief, going 5.1 innings while allowing just one earned run. The second game saw both offenses putting up great numbers as neither team could do much to slow the other down. Of the eight pitchers who saw action for both teams, six gave up at least one earned run. Jesse Russo and Liam Slattery each went 2-for-3 with a walk and had 2 and 3 RBIs respectively. Winning both in this double-header was big for Old Westbury’s playoff prospects as they improve to 5-5 in conference play and get closer to the top of the Skyline conference.
SUNY Maritime: The Privateers got their own double-header sweep against the other St. Joseph’s College (Brooklyn), taking game one 5-1 and game two 10-3. Phil Russo sparked Maritime in the first inning of the first game as e tripled to left field to score a pair of runs. The early lead let starter Dylan Clausen get comfortable, as he dealt nine strikeouts over eight innings while allowing just one run. After St. Joseph’s put up a run in the top of the sixth, Stephen Semler answered with a two-run homer that put a nice bow on the victory. In a shortened, 7-inning second game, Maritime scored at least one run in every inning, highlighted by 5 different home runs. Travis Zurita, Shane Sullivan and Semler all homered, while Matt Costleigh hit two solo jacks. Anthony D’Ancona pitched a complete game, striking out five and giving up three runs.
USMMA: The winningest team in our coverage area finally had a bad day, suffering a double-header sweep at the hands of Mount St. Mary, losing 7-1 in the first game and 4-2 in the second. Mount St. Mary pitcher Keenan Blake dominated the Merchant Marine hitters, going a complete nine innings while striking out 6 and allowing just one earned run. Chris Introcaso made sure he had plenty of run support, going 4-4 with a walk and 4 RBIs. The Knights took the shorter second game behind solid pitching as well, as Ryan Hayes went 6 innings and allowed just two earned runs. He did however, walk a whopping seven hitters. Four of those walks went to Merchant Marine Academy CF Michael Barnes, the team’s most consistent hitter. USMMA is still 21-7 after the day, but they’ve now lost three straight.
Juco:
Suffolk: The Sharks split with the Community College of Rhode Island, losing the first game, 5-3, and taking the second game, 2-0. In the loss, Jeff Towle stayed red-hot (.547 AVG) with a 2-for-3 game, as did Jimmy Mattera who went 2-for-4 and Anthony Scheller who went 2-for-4. In the victory, Tyler Schmid recorded the victory. He allowed only two hits while striking out eight.
Nassau CC: The Lions dominated in two games against Monroe College, taking the first 11-3 and Mercy Ruling Monroe with a 12-0 second game. Joe Minucci got his first win of the season in the first game, pitching just 4.1 innings, but striking out a whopping 11 batters and allowing just one earned run. Six NCC hitters had an RBI, highlighted by three RBIs apiece for Vincent Napolitano and Ali Ghiraz. The second game was even more dominant for the Lions, with two different six-run innings. Napolitano racked up three more RBIs and had a home run in support of starting pitched Andrew Williams. Williams improves to a surprising 5-0 for a team with only 9 wins as he went 5 innings, striking out 7 and allowing just two hits and no walks. NCC is now 8-1 in the Region XV division, while Monroe drops to a lowly 0-18 on the year.
