by Daniel Lopes
Only five Long Island teams were in action on Saturday, as inclement weather caused cancellations for another five programs today. In total, St. John’s, Stony Brook, Fordham, SUNY Maritime and USMMA combined to play six games today.
DIVISION I:
St. Johns 15, Sacred Heart University 5
Sacred Heart got on the board first in this game, scoring two in the top half of the first game. Ryan Donnelly got the action started, driving in Justin Jordan with a double. Donnelly scored a couple of batters later, as George Sutherland drove him in with a single. St. John’s retaliated with a run of their own in the bottom half of the first, as Kevin Michaels drove in Tate Ballestero with a double.
After a scoreless second inning for both teams, St. John’s completely woke up, out-scoring Sacred Heart 14-3 between the third and seventh inning. Their best offensive inning happened in the fifth inning, where they scored six runs. Colin Wetterau started the scoring with an RBI single, driving in Michaels. They got another RBI single, this time from Jermaine White. The exclamation point of the inning occurred in the next at-bat, as David Glancy hit a two-run home run to give them a 10-5 lead. However, the most impressive performance of the inning was from Austin Machado, who got two plate appearances in the inning, going 2-2 with an RBI double and an RBI single.
They weren’t done at the plate, adding four more runs of insurance in the sixth inning. Machado and White continued their impressive days, with each hitting an RBI single. Nick Cirelli added an RBI single, and Glancy finished the scoring for the inning with his second sacrifice fly of the day, giving him four total RBI’s. They got their 15th and final run of the game in the 7th, when Cirelli hit another RBI single, driving in Carlos Hidalgo.
Dylan Johnson and Chuck Sanzio both pitched four innings for St. John’s, but Joe Mascio got the win after pitching a scoreless fifth inning. Ryan LaMay was tagged with the loss for Sacred Heart, allowing five earned runs over four innings.
Stony Brook 7, UMass Lowell 6 (10 innings)
After both teams went scoreless in the first inning, Evan Giordano put Stony Brook on the board first, driving in Brett Paulsen with a single. UMass Lowell responded immediately, taking a 2-1 lead in the top of the third inning. Fritz Genther tied the game with an RBI double, then Gerry Siracusa drove him in on the next batter with an RBI single. However, this game continued to go back and forth, as Stony Brook retaliated with an Evan Fox home run in the bottom of the fourth.
Both teams went scoreless in the fifth inning, but UMass Lowell had another multi-run inning, taking a 4-2 lead. Brandon Fish drove in Siracusa with a double, and Cedric Rose hit an RBI single, driving in Fish. Once again, the lead was short-lived, as Stony Brook bounced back in the bottom half of the inning. After Stanton Leuthner and Fox got on base to start the inning, Shane Paradine tied the game up with a two-RBI double. He gave Stony Brook the lead two batters later, scoring on a triple from Matt Brown-Eiring.
Siracusa continued his impressive day in the seventh inning, tying the game back up with a sacrifice fly. The score would remain into the 10th inning, when Ryan Proto started extra innings off with a bang, giving UMass Lowell the lead with a home run. However, if the rest of the game wasn’t evidence enough of this, Stony Brook continued to battle, as Giordano tied up the game again in the bottom of the 10th inning with a home run of his own. On the next batter of the inning, Cole Durkan sent the fans home happy, hitting a walk-off solo home run.
Both starters for UMass Lowell and Stony Brook, LJ Keevan and Brandon Lashley, went 5.1 innings, but neither earned a decision. Josh O’Neill got the win for Stony Brook, and Matt Draper was tagged with the loss.
Fordham 7, Marist 17
Marist made their presence felt early and often in this game, scoring 14 of their 17 runs in the first four innings, including a five-run first inning and a five-run third inning. They scored their first five on a two-run home run by Gavin Neriega and a three-run home run by Robbie Armitage. They nearly hit for the cycle as a team in the third inning, as Noriega hit a two-RBI single, Donnie Stone hit an RBI double and Nathan Lincoln hit an RBI triple. They ended their early onslaught in the fourth inning with a two-RBI single from Reece Armitage and a sacrifice fly from Brian Hart, giving Marist a 14-1 lead.
While Erubiel Candelario was solid on the mound for Marist, allowing five hits and striking out five batters in seven innings, Fordham did break through and score three runs off of him. In the first inning, Sebastian Mexico scored on fielder’s choice from Zach Selinger. Later on, in the fourth inning. Will Findlay drove in Andy Semo with a double and Chris Genaro hit a solo home run in the fifth inning.
Fordham strung together a small rally in the bottom of the ninth inning, scoring three runs on Genaro’s second home run of the day. However, it was too little, too late, as Marist had already built the 17-7 lead that would become the final score.
Candelario earned the win for Marist, and Jack Popolizio took the loss for Fordham.
DIVISION III:
SUNY Maritime 4, John Jay College 1
In the first half of the doubleheader, Maritime controlled in every aspect of the game. The scoring started in the first inning, as Nick Pinggera and Travis Zurita opened up the bottom half of the first with a pair of singles. Pinggera then scored on a sacrifice fly from Freddy Forgione. Pinggera scored once again in the third inning, this time on a fielder’s choice from Jake Bernardi to give them a 2-0 lead.
The two runs would’ve been enough, but they added more insurance in the sixth inning, scoring two more runs to give them a 4-0 lead. With the bases loaded, Jonathan Racanello drew a walk, scoring Bernardi. After scoring the first two runs of the game, Pinggera drove in one of his own, hitting an RBI single. The reason two runs would’ve been enough was the dominant pitching performance from Shane Sullivan. He pitched a complete game, striking out 11 batters and only allowing two hits. The only blemish on his record was a solo home run from Anthony Agosta with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. He quickly recovered, striking out the next batter to end the game.
Preston Reitz took the loss for John Jay, allowing two earned runs in five innings.
SUNY Maritime 15, John Jay College 0
Maritime picked up right where they left off, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning. They got it all in one swing, as Jake Bernardi hit a grand slam to give them a 4-0 lead. The power only continued, as Freddy Forgione and Bernardi both hit home runs in the third inning. They added three more runs in the inning, with Adam Mosca hitting an RBI double, Jaden Shea scoring on a throwing error, and Nick Pinggera getting an RBI single, giving Maritime a 9-0 lead.
They saved their best scoring outburst of the game for the fifth inning, scoring six runs to give them their final total of 15. The scoring started with Xavier Cruz scoring on a groundout and Anthony Madigan scored on a wild pitch. They scored their last four runs of the game on a two-RBI triple from Nate Revere, an RBI double from Shea, and an RBI single from Cruz.
Once again, the pitching shined for Maritime, as Niko Concha pitched a two-hit complete game of his own. However, it was even more dominant than Sullivan’s as Concha pitched a shutout and struck out 14 batters. In total, Maritime pitchers only allowed eight baserunners in 14 innings: four hits, two walks, and two hit batsmen.
Juan Maldonado struggled for John Jay, allowing eight earned runs in two innings and taking the loss.
USMMA 9, Wisconsin-Stout 11 (10 innings)
Wisconsin-Stout started off the scoring in the second inning, as Jack Schirpke hit a three-run home run. After a passed ball gave USMMA a run in the bottom of the second, Wisconsin-Stout added another run in the fourth inning, with Schirpke scoring on a single from TJ Carlson.
The bats began to wake up for USMMA in the bottom of the fifth inning, as they scratched back into the game with two runs. Brayden O’Connell started it with a solo home run and Joey Zanetti hit an RBI double to bring USMMA within one. Wisconsin-Stout responded in the seventh, scoring two runs back on a home run from Colin Hageman and a single from Joel Thimsen to give them a 6-3 lead.
However, USMMA exploded in the bottom half of the seventh, scoring five runs. Noah Herdman had an RBI groundout, and Zanetti and Jared Chambers helped give USMMA an 8-6 lead with a pair of two-RBI singles. Wisconsin-Stout wasn’t going down without a fight, however, immediately responding with three runs in the top of the eighth inning on a single from Thimsen and a two-RBI double from Schirpke.
Down 9-8, USMMA pushed across their last run of the game, with Zanetti scoring on a groundout from Tyler Reistetter. This tied the game in the eighth inning and later sent it to extra innings.
The tenth inning was controlled by Wisconsin-Stout, As an RBI double from Schirpke and an RBI single from Carlson gave them an 11-9 lead. USMMA threatened, getting runners on first and second, but O’Connell struck out to end the rally and the game.
Grant Corb took the loss for USMMA, allowing the two-runs, and Charlie Szykowny earned the win for Wisconsin-Stout. Jack Schirpke was unstoppable for Wisconsin-Stout, going 4-4 with two doubles, a home run, and six RBI.
In total, teams on Long Island went 4-2 in six games on Saturday.
