by Joseph Langan
We enter Week 3 of the college baseball season. Friday was limited to Division-I, but Saturday will be interesting as some more of the Division-II teams get underway. It was an inconsistent night of play for the locals.
Here’s how it went down:
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Division I:
- St. John’s was defeated by Charlotte to open up the three-game series, losing by a score of 5-1. The Red Storm didn’t produce much of an offensive spark on the day and fall to 3-4 on the season.
The 49ers put up three runs early on The Red Storm, scoring on a wild pitch and a pair of RBI’s by Tate Pennington and Carson Johnson. Charlotte would end up adding to that lead with a pair runs off the bat of Johnson (2) and Craig Keuchel. The lone run for St. John’s came off the bat of Ryan Hogan, an RBI single scoring Ryan Markey.
Sonny Fauci, provided great relief for St. Johns. Stopping the bleeding, Fauci tossed three scoreless innings only allowing one hit and striking out three in the process.
Ryan Markey, was the one person in the Red Storm’s offense to put up consistently good at-bats. Going 2-for-4 on the day and scoring the lone run on the day for them.
St. John’s plays game two of the series tomorrow in Charlotte North Carolina at 3 P.M.
- Hofstra played two games against two different opponents, losing 19-10 in a high scoring game against Wichita State and defeating Nevada 2-1 in a pitcher duel.
In game one, the Shockers offense proved to be too much for the Lions, scoring in every except one. Wichita State scored nine unanswered runs to open up the game before Hostra could hit their stride. Blake Marsh delivered the blow that would inevitably slam the door for the Lions, a two RBI base hit that pushed the lead to 12-6.
Senior first baseman Rob Weissheier went off in game one, going 4-for-5 out of the four hole and scoring two runs in the process. Brian Goulard went 3-for-6 with a HR and six RBI
Game two went completely different for Hofstra, instead of the slugfest provided in game one, the pitchers dominated. With Santino Russo providing the only two runs of offense for the Lions, pitcher Jimmy Joyce pitched a 1-hit shutout of the Wolf Pack to secure the 2-1 win.
Junior pitcher Jimmy Joyce pitched the game of his life on Friday. Tossing a complete game one hitter and only allowing one run on a sacrifice fly. Joyce earned his first win of the season and led his team to a much needed victory.
Hofstra plays the second and final game of the series tomorrow against Nevada at 3 P.M.
- Stony Brook struggled on Friday, falling to Southeastern Louisiana University 11-0. The Sea Wolves fall to 1-7 on the season in a difficult American East Conference.
Stony Brook found themselves behind the 8-ball from the very first inning, with a big blast by Jacob Burke putting the Lions up 4-0. In the blink of an eye the game became a lopsided battle, seeing SLU score their eleven unanswered runs by the 6th inning.
Brett Paulsen provided two of Stony Brooks three hits on Friday night. Seeing the ball well, Paulsen slapped the only extra base hit and saw his average climb to .364 on the season.
The Seawolves play their next game tomorrow against Southern Louisiana in game two of the series at 3 P.M.
- Fordham had a much easier go of it on Friday than all of the other Long Island teams. Defeating Furman 5-1, Fordham improved their record to 3-6 in a well deserved win against a tough opponent.
The Rams took the lead in the top of the fourth inning with an RBI base hit by Alvin Melendez and never looked back. Melendez would only add to his RBI total and the lead with an 8th inning 2 RBI single, putting his team up 4-0. Alex Henderson would come on and slam the door on the Paladins, throwing 1.2 innings of work and recording two strikeouts.
Alvin Melendez provided most of Fordham’s offense on Friday, going 2-for-4 and driving home three of the most important runs of the game. The senior saw his average climb to .379 after his dominant performance.
Junior pitcher Matt Mikulski earned his first win of the year on Sunday in a hard-fought seven innings of work. Mikulski only gave up one run on three hits while striking out five on the day.
Fordham plays game two of their series against Furman tomorrow at 1 P.M.
- LIU lost a tough come from behind battle against Nicholls State on Friday night. The Sharks were in command the whole game until it came to the bottom of the ninth inning. The Colonels mounted a three run comeback without even recording a hit, winning on a walk off hit by pitch.
The first inning opened up with bang for both teams, each scoring a run to kick off the game. After that first it seemed to be LIU’s game to lose. Scoring a pair of runs courtesy of Tim Betchold and Carlton Harper, the Sharks went into the ninth with what seemed like a commanding 3-1 lead. With four hit by pitches and a fielder’s choice ground out issued by pitcher Rob Griswold, the Colonels were able to mount a comeback and defeat LIU by a score of 4-3.
Catcher Andy Camilo had a good day for LIU, going 1-for-2 and scoring both a run and recording an RBI. Camilo, just like last season continues to be a wall behind the plate for LIU, with a good game tonight things seem to be trending up for him.
Jackson Svete had another pretty good start for the Sharks on Friday. Tossing six innings of one run ball, Steve only allowed four hits and and dominated by striking out ten batters.
LIU will try to get back on track tomorrow in game two of the series against Nicholls State at 7 P.M.
