In total, seven different colleges on the island played down south on Friday, with St. John’s getting postponed. It comes as little surprise that we continued to see Long Island teams struggle against schools who have been practicing outside all year long. There was, however, two bright spots that came in the form of double sweeps for the Long Islanders. With that being said, here’s a look at Friday’s results.
Division-I:
Coming off a strong series win a week ago, Stony Brook struggled on Friday as they fell to Southeastern Lousiana, 7-2. Although Stony Brook collected 10 hits, they couldn’t get things going with runners in scoring position. Chris Hamilton launched a solo home run in the top half of the 2nd to give Stony Brook an early 1-0 lead, but that was the only lead they held all game. Hamilton finished the game driving in the only two Stony Brook runs and finished 3-4 with a run scored. Brandon Alamo also went 3-4. The Seawolves hope to bounce back in game two of the series today.
After a tough series in College Station last week, Fordham lost a heart breaker to North Florida 4-3 in 12 innings. Once again, walks were the undoing for Fordham as they surrendered nine in the loss. Fordham scored the first run of the game in the top of the 6th, courtesy of a Matt Tarabek sac fly. However, their lead only lasted a half inning as North Florida answered with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the 6th. Fast forward to the 9th inning, and Nick Labella launched a two-run home run to left, tying the game at 3. Labella finished 2-5 on the day. Although they had momentum riding off this, they were unable to score again in extra innings and lost on a walk off in the bottom of the 12th. Fordham will look to avenge this tough loss in a double header today at 1:05 PM.
Division-II:
Friday featured a clean sweep for LIU Post, as they defeated Felician 3-2 in game one of their double header. Game one featured an exciting victory and a promising pitching performance. Mike Stiles got the start for Post, as he went five innings allowing four hits, two earned runs and struck out two. In relief, Michael Andreoli picked up the win, surrendering only two hits over three innings of work and struck out four. Joshua Loeschorn picked up the save. All around, this was a fantastic performance for the Pioneers. Heading into the 8th inning, the game was all tied up at 2-2. This would all change on a Michael Manzione solo home run, giving them the lead and propelling them to victory.
Fortunately, Post was able to carry their late inning magic into game two as they defeated Stonehill 5-3. Trailing 2-0 heading into the 5th, Post strung together RBI from Chris Wasson and Manzione to tie the game at two a piece. The game would stay tied until the 8th inning, where Post broke it open. Once again, Manzione came through. A fielder’s choice RBI gave them the lead, followed by a 2-RBI single by Jahsiah Greene. This opened the door for Mike Lazos to complete the two-inning save, and he delivered. LIU Post plays again today in Myrtle Beach at 11AM against Concordia.
The Frank Catalanotto era began on a high note for NYIT, as they also completed a clean sweep in their first games of the year. In game one, NYIT defeated Concordia in a closely contested battle by a score of 7-6. Offensively, they were extremely effective with runners in scoring position. After surrendering a four-spot in the first frame of the game, they bounced back efficiently and held a 6-4 lead after three innings. Offensively, Ryan Kuskowski drove in two runs, along with Kieran Dowd, who finished 2-4 with two RBI. Joe Pesce scored the go ahead run on a wild pitch in the 6th inning. From this point forward, the NYIT bullpen stayed in tact. On the mound, freshman Joe Keller picked up the win in his first collegiate appearance, going 2.1 innings allowing two hits, one earned run, two walks two punch outs. Ariel Tavares shut the door in his save opportunity over 2.1 innings, allowing only one hit and striking out two.
Game two of NYIT’s double header featured another win, as they defeated Le Moyne 6-4. In total, NYIT collected 12 hits throughout the ballgame. Once again, they displayed late inning heroics and the bullpen did their job. After a tie game heading into the bottom half of the 7th, Kieran Dowd and John LaRocca strung together a pair of RBI, providing NYIT with a 6-4 lead. LaRocca finished the game 3-4 at the plate. Matt Malone also had a three-hit performance. Joseph Murphy picked up the win in relief, as he pitched four scoreless innings, allowing three hits and struck out six batters. NYIT takes on Franklin Pierce in Myrtle Beach today at 5 PM.
Things did not start off hot what so ever for Molloy, as they fell to Wilmington University, 19-3. From the beginning of this game, it was never close. By the time the 6th inning rolled around, Wilmington was up 8-0 and the game was basically over. In total, Molloy surrendered nine earned runs, 15 hits, walked eight batters and made one error. Offensively, Sean Hogan was the only player with a multi-hit performance as he finished 2-4. Thomas Brady, Matt Overton and Michael Nacinovich all had RBI. Molloy has a double header today against Stonehill College and Southern Connecticuit State University.
Queens has the fortune of playing the extremely rare triple header today, as their game against Nyack was suspended on Friday due to darkness. Play will resume in the 10th inning with a tie score of 7-7. Concluding the finish of this game, Queens must play a double header immediately after. Considering they burned through five arms yesterday, this may be extremely challenging. Yesterday, Louis Antos led Queens offensively as he went 3-6 with 3 RBI. Eric Roubal also chimed in with a three-hit performance. They hope to transfer that success into their resumed game and double header today.
Division-III:
As we round out Friday’s recaps, we end with Division-III. Old Westbury suffered a brutal 17-3 loss against Kean University, as they now fall to 0-2 on the young season. Before this game started, it was over. In fact, the score was 16-0 at the end of two innings. That pretty much sums this one up. Their pitching was near atrocious as they surrendered 11 hits and 14 walks. Offensively, they strung together five hits. Clearly, this is a game they would like to forget for eternity. Their next game is March 6th against New Rochelle.
