John Condon discusses his five-hit day which included the big game-tying 2-R single in the sixth pic.twitter.com/VzO1X2eTpS
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 9, 2019
When it comes to March weather, you have to count your blessings when you get 45 degrees and sunny. There was a few local teams in action here on the island, while the rest made the smart decision to head down south. There was plenty of excitement with a walk-off hit, game-tying hits and a one-run game between two of the Division-Is!
For the game recap of Farmingdale-Lehman, you can click here.
Division-I:
In an evenly matched battle on Saturday, Fordham defeated Hofstra 4-3. Hofstra jumped out to an early lead thanks to solo shots by the suddenly-resurgent Vito Friscia and Vinnie Costello, but Fordham was able to come back. Trailing 2-1 heading into the 7th, the Rams put up a two-spot to take the lead. Hofstra would not wave the white flag, however, and tied it again in the top of the 8th inning. Fordham answered once again in the bottom half and never looked back. Kyle Martin was the winning pitcher for the Rams, going 1.2 innings allowing one hit no earned runs and three strikeouts. These teams match up again today at 2 PM to end their brief two games series.
After being shut out on Friday, St. John’s was able to rebound as they defeated UC Irvine 4-3 for their third win of the year. Heading into the 7th inning, St. John’s was trailing 3-2. Enter Mitchell Henshaw. He delivered a pinch hit go ahead 2 RBI single to give them the lead. From this point forward, the St. John’s bullpen stayed strong and they walked out with a victory. Peter Abinanti was the spark plug at the top of their lineup, going 3-4 at the plate. Sam Lara was the winning pitcher and Gavin Hollowell received the eight-out save. They have the rubber match against UC Irvine today at 4 PM.
Division-II:
In walk-off fashion, Adelphi defeated Felician, 3-2 to bounce back after their first game down in Florida. They now improve to 3-1 on the season. Leading into the 6th inning, Felician tied the game at two a piece. Things would stay knotted up until the 9th inning, where Michael Catani delivered a pinch-hit, walk-off single. Lawrence Cicileo and Brandon Morse both had two hits and an RBI a piece. Tom Ambrosino picked up the win in relief. After starting off the season hot, Adelphi looks to carry their momentum into today against Molloy.
After a solid win on Friday, NYIT took a step back on Saturday as they lost to Augustana, 17-7. This game was highlighted by an 11-run 3rd inning. From this point forward, it was 11-0 and the game was out of hand. Their pitching staff had a game to forget, surrendering 17 earned runs and 15 walks. At the plate, EJ Cumbo and John LaRocca had three-hit performances. The NYIT pitching staff hopes to rebound against Minnesota Crookston today at 9:15 AM.
Still without a win, Molloy dropped their 6th straight as they were defeated 8-1 by Barry. Early in the season, their pitching is struggling significantly. Although they only walked one batter, they gave up eight earned runs and 14 hits. Their bats weren’t any help either as they only strung together six hits. After starting the season off 0-6, Molloy must turn things around quickly before conference play begins.
Queens dropped a tough one on Saturday, falling to Wilmington, 8-2. Right out of the gate, Wilmington began to knock the Queens pitching staff around the park. WIlmington collected 13 hits, and the Queens pitching staff allowed four walks. Sitting at 4-5-1 on the season so far, Queens looks to rebound against Southern Connecticut State today at 10:30 AM.
The LIU Post bats stayed cold as they were defeated by Slippery Rock 2-1. They now fall to 5-6 on the season. Although Noah Lorenzo had a complete game effort, his gem was ruined by no run support. Lorenzo allowed two earned runs, seven hits and struck out 10 batters. All together, Post had five hits offensively. They hope to wake the bats up against Clarion today at 9 AM and another at noon against Jefferson before coming back home. They will play their home opener next Saturday against Assumpion, one month into the season.
Division-III:
SUNY Old Westbury won their first game of the DH, 5-2. Hard-throwing Christian Tessitore got the start and pitched four innings, allowing just a two-run shot in the fourth inning. He left with a 4-3 lead thanks to an RBI single by John Condon, an RBI double by Peter Capel and RBI single by Shaun Kaminski. They added two runs on RBI singles by Brandon Wilson and Dom Kriegel. They got three shutout innings by Brandon O’Brien, who transferred from Queens College and may wind up having a huge impact this season.
The second game of the DH was certainly exciting. Old Westbury took an early 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Peter Capel, but Southern Vermont bounced back with a four-run second inning against freshman flamethrower Pat Quinn, who was 89-90 MPH in the first inning. When it looked like the game might slip away, Quinn settled in and his offense went to work. Condon ripped a two-run single to cut the deficit to 4-3, but Southern Vermont put up a run in the fifth and fifth to extend to 6-3. With darkness drawing near and the game scheduled for only seven innings, the clock was ticking on Old Westbury. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, Condon came to the plate and laced a game-tying two-run single to tie it up and bring it to the seventh. Unfortunately, both teams couldn’t score in the seventh and the umpire was forced to end the game in a tie due to darkness. Old Westbury heads down to Florida this weekend with a record of 1-2-1.
In double header action, Maritime was able to come out with a victory in game one as they defeated Dominican 4-0. Clearly, the pitching was dominant in this one. Nick Concha was the winning pitcher for Maritime, surrendering only three hits through five innings. Their bullpen also got the job done, allowing one hit through four innings. Phil Russo was the leader offensively, going 4-4 with 2 RBI.
After winning game one, Maritime dropped game two to North Park 6-5. After trailing 4-0 heading into the 3rd, Maritime showed some heart and almost came back, however the gas ran out at the end. They out hit North Park 13-6 throughout the game, but they couldn’t come through with runners in scoring position. They left 11 men on base. Matt Eng had a great game for Maritime, going 3-4 out of the lead off spot. Maritime’s next game is against Lehman on Wednesday.
