Well, it’s not quite Yankees vs Red Sox, but two teams that do not like to lose to each other are Fordham and Stony Brook. Two of the top Division-I programs in the northeast battled it out yesterday for the first time since March 13, 2016. For much of the rivalry, Stony Brook has dominated – the Seawolves have an all-time record of 17-5 against NCAA’s winningest program.
For much of yesterday, it appeared that the Seawolves would do more of the same. They had a 7-2 lead in the top of the seventh, well on their way to a victory. But the Rams would chip away at the lead with two runs in the seventh and eighth innings before breaking through with three runs in the ninth – with the go-ahead run coming on an RBI single by Jack Harnisch that was his third of the day.
Joseph Quintal came on in relief and slammed the door on the victory to improve the Rams to 4-0 on the season for the first time since 1988 – or the year after Pete Harnisch was drafted in the 1st round for the Rams.
The Seawolves jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning on a leadoff shot by John LaRocca. They added another run in the inning on an RBI double by John Tuccillo to score Shane Paradine.
In the top of the second, the Rams got on the board on Harnisch’s first hit of the day – an RBI double to right field to score catcher Will Findlay. In the home half of the second, the Seawolves responded with two runs scoring on a wild pitch and a sac fly by LaRocca.
It was a familiar face who got Fordham one run closer in the top of the fourth. West Islip grad Jake Guercio ripped an RBI single to center to score Findlay and make it a 4-2 ballgame. Stony Brook RHP Nick DiGennaro‘s day was done after four innings, yielding two runs on six hit with three strikeouts.
Shane Helmstadt came on in relief and fired two shutout innings for the Seawolves, while Stony Brook also added runs on a wild pitch, RBI single by Evan Fox and sac fly by Chris Hamilton to make it 7-2. With the game seemingly not in question, the Seawolves called on Josh O’Neill in relief. He struggled, allowing a two-run shot to DH Casey Brown to make it a 7-4 lead.
In the top of the eighth, the Rams took advantage of some sloppiness – scoring on an error and a wild pitch to make it 7-6.
Brian Morrisey entered for the save in the top of the ninth, and he allowed back-to-back singles to Zach Selinger and Nick Labella – which put the tying run 90 feet away. The next batter, pinch hitter Andy Semo dropped down a sac bunt that Morrisey attempted to throw to the plate but the tying run snuck in ahead of the tag. After a strikeout, Jack Harnisch smacked the go-ahead hit to left center field and they added an insurance run on an RBI single by C.J. Vazquez, his first hit of the day.
Quintal shut the door for the save, to drop the Seawolves to 2-4 on the season. Stony Brook will be back in action this weekend for a 3-game set at Central Connecticut State while Fordham will host Sacred Heart today and Farleigh Dickinson this weekend
