By: Daniel Lopes
Despite inclement weather causing multiple postponements for teams across Long Island, a total of 10 teams played 12 games today. In total, Hofstra, St. John’s LIU, Stony Brook, Molloy, Queens, Farmingdale, St. Joseph’s, Old Westbury, and USMMA played.
DIVISION I:
Hofstra 0, UNCW 11
UNCW did all of their damage in the third and fourth innings, including an eight-run third inning. The inning started with both a bases loaded walk and hit batsmen, giving them their first two runs in the inning. The biggest hit came one batter later, when John Newton hit a grand slam to extend their lead to 6-0. The power surge in the inning wasn’t over, however, as they put the finishing touches on the inning with a two-run home run by Bryan Arendt.
The UNCW scoring outburst came to a close in the fourth inning, when Ethan Baucom hit a two-run home run to extend UNCW’s lead to 10-0. They scored the final run of their evening later in the inning, when Ron Evans drove in Jac Croom with an RBI groundout.
Hofstra’s offense couldn’t figure out the UNCW pitching staff, only mustering two hits: one from Steve Harrington and one from Michael Florides. The trio of Cyle Phelan, Noah Overton and Cody Benton combined to strike out six batters over nine shutout innings. While they struggled with control, allowing four walks, they kept Hofstra’s bats in check so that the walks didn’t hurt them.
Phelan earned the win for UNCW, and Tristan Nemjo took the loss for Hofstra
St. John’s 0, #25 University of Connecticut 13
Connecticut took control of this game early and often, scoring in all but two innings. This scoring barrage included three innings of scoring at least three runs. Erik Stock got the offense going with a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning. They added three more runs in the second inning, on a sacrifice fly from T.C. Simmons and a two-run single from Stock. St. John’s pitching staff had no answer for Stock, as he went 4-4 with three RBIs and a walk.
After scoring two more runs in the fourth and fifth innings, Connecticut put together a four-run sixth inning. Simmons hit an RBI groundout, Korey Morton hit an RBI single, and Casey Dana and Matt Donlan both added RBI doubles. They finished off their scoring attack in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring three runs on a bases loaded walk and a two-run single from Ben Huber.
St.John’s offense could not figure out Connecticut’s Pat Gallagher, who pitched a four hit shutout. He only walked one batter and added seven strikeouts
Gallagher got the win for Connecticut, and Brandon Backman struggled for St. John’s, allowing five runs and taking the loss.
LIU 13, Central Connecticut St. University 10
Both offenses scored early and often in this game, as the two teams combined for 18 runs in the first four innings. LIU started the game off with a five-run first inning, highlighted by a grand slam by Colin Adams. Central Connecticut responded with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the first. Dan Covino hit a two-run double and Sam Loda added an RBI single.
In the second inning, LIU scored two more runs on an RBI groundout from Michael Edelman and an RBI single by EJ Exposito. Central Connecticut tied the game at seven in the second inning in a big way, as Covino hit a grand slam of his own.
The two continued to trade runs, with LIU finally taking a lead in the fourth inning on a two-run home run from Giovanni Ciaccio. In the seventh inning, LIU added three more runs to give them a 13-8 lead. Christopher Wasson scored on an error, RJ Latkowski hit an RBI single, and Seth Surrett hit a sacrifice fly.
These insurance runs were necessary, as Central Connecticut began to rally, scoring two runs in the ninth inning on two fielder’s choices. However, Josh Gainer came in and shut the door, striking out a batter and forcing a pop up to earn the save.
Nick DeSalvo earned the win in relief for LIU, and Vincent Spizzoucco took the loss for Central Connecticut.
Stony Brook 3 , UAlbany 5
For the first six innings of this game, both teams mirrored each other on the scoreboard. After a scoreless first inning, both teams scored two runs in the second inning. For Albany, John Daly hit an RBI triple, and Chris Fisher drove him in on the next play with an RBI single. Stony Brook responded immediately after, as Cole Durkan hit a game-tying two run home run after Stanton Leuthner reached on a fielder’s choice.
Both offenses went quiet again in the third inning, before Albany took the lead back in the fourth inning on a solo home run from Daly, his second extra base hit and RBI in the game. Stony Brook immediately tied the game back up in the bottom half of the fourth, as Brett Paulsen drove in Shane Paradine with an RBI single.
Albany broke the 3-3 stalemate in the top of the seventh inning, scoring two runs on a pair of RBI doubles by Will Feil and Brad Malm. Stony Brook couldn’t match them again, as Albany’s pitching trio of Cregg Scherrer, Connor Eisenmann and Chase Carroll took control of the game. After allowing the run in the fourth inning, they didn’t allow another run, striking out seven batters and only allowing three hits the rest of the way.
Scherrer earned the win, Carroll got the save, and Colton Book took the loss for Stony Brook.
DIVISION II
Molloy 11, Mercy College 3
Neither team scored until the fourth inning, when Molloy scored two runs on an RBI single from David Franchi and a sacrifice fly from Patrick Hoffman. Hoffman kickstarted another rally in the sixth inning, driving in two runs on a single. He then scored on the next play on a double from Gavin McAlonie, giving them a 5-0 lead.
After Molloy added another run in the eighth on a wild pitch, Mercy finally got on the board, scoring two runs on a sacrifice fly by Ivan Martinez Jr. and an RBI double from Nikko Liguori.
However, Molloy saved their best inning for last, breaking the game open with a 5-run ninth inning. Chris Einemann walked and Vincent Pecora was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, scoring the first two runs of the inning. After that, Peter Theodorellis hit a two-run single and Thomas Brady hit an RBI single to give them an 11-2 lead. Nolan Giblin hit a solo home run in the bottom half of the ninth inning for Mercy, but it wasn’t enough, as they took the 11-3 loss.
Mike Andreoli went the distance for Molloy, striking out three batters and getting the win in a complete game. Anthony Burgio took the loss for Mercy.
Molloy 5, Mercy College 3 (7 Innings)
Molloy got on the board first in the second game of the doubleheader, scoring three runs in the top of the second. After Garrett Scavelli and Patrick Hoffman reached, Chris Einemann cleared the bases with a two-run triple. He scored on the next play, as Robby Keane hit a sacrifice fly. They added another run in the third inning, this time on a sacrifice fly from Matt Overton.
Mercy got their first run in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI groundout from Justin Glennerster. Molloy responded in the next inning, as Thomas Brady gave them a 5-1 lead with a sacrifice fly.
Mercy started to chip away at Molloy’s lead in the sixth and seventh inning, scoring two runs. Alfred Hoti hit an RBI triple and Nolan Giblin hit an RBI groundout to cut the lead to 5-3. However, Connor Huckemeyer shut the door for Molloy, getting another groundout to end the game.
Huckemeyer earned the save, getting Billy Wildeman the win for Molloy. Scott Scheppy took the loss for Mercy.
Queens College 16, College of Staten Island 6
Queen’s offense was on fire in this one, scoring in all but one inning. They started the game by scoring four runs in the first two innings. In the first inning, Marc Cisco hit an RBI triple and Lou Antos hit an RBI single, while Matt Filip drove in a run with an RBI groundout. In the second inning, Nick Barreiros hit a solo home run, giving them a 4-0 lead.
Staten Island began to come back in the third inning, scoring three runs on a bases loaded walk, a fielder’s choice, and an RBI single by Thomas Marten. However, while Staten Island’s bats started to go quiet after this inning, Queens College was only heating up, outscoring Staten Island 12-3 over the last six innings.
The offense for Queens College was very well distributed, as in the 12-3 run, only two players had multiple RBIs. Justin Ventura had an RBI single and an RBI double and Juan De La Rosa had a pair of RBI singles. Other than those two, Barreiros, Jayson Rodopoulos, Filip, Colin Diez and Teovaldo Estevez provided the scoring for Queens
Rob Backus got the win on the mound for Queens, and Kevin Ryan was tagged with the loss for Staten Island.
Queens College 9, College of Staten Island 0 (7 Innings)
Queens picked up right where they left off, scoring three runs in the first inning of the second game. Colin Diez and Matt Filip both hit RBI singles, and Reed Hoskins scored on a wild pitch to give them the early 3-0 lead.
While they did score more, the three runs would’ve been all they needed because of the performance on the mound from Liam Pulsipher. Pulsipher dominated the game, pitching a one-hit complete game shutout and striking out eight batters. In total, he only allowed three baserunners, allowing the one hit and walking two batters.
While Pulsipher was quieting the bats of Staten Island, Queens began to heat up again at the end of the game, scoring six runs in their last two innings. Filip was the biggest contributor to this performance hitting a pair of RBI singles and a two-run home run in the last two innings. In total, he finished with three hits and four RBIs. Aside from Filip, Lou Antos added an RBI double, Diez hit an RBI single, and Marc Cisco scored on a wild pitch.
Pulsipher got the win for Queens, and Pat Gardner took the loss.
DIVISION III
Farmingdale 3, St. Joseph’s 2 (7 Innings)
Farmingdale scored first in a big way, as Jordan Lambert gave them an early 2-0 lead with a two-run home run. St. Joseph’s responded in the first inning, scoring a run of their own on an RBI groundout from Nick Vicino. Unfortunately for St. Joseph’s, Farmingdale got that run right back in the bottom of the second inning, as Nolan White drove in Justin DiMartino with a single to give them a 3-1 lead.
After the early scoring from both teams, both pitchers settled down and it became a pitchers duel. Both Stephen Clancy of Farmingdale and Kevin Czeczotka pitched the whole game for their teams. Clancy in particular was dominant, allowing five hits and striking out 12 batters. Czeczotka pitched more to contact, only striking out two batters, but he didn’t allow another run after the third inning.
In the seventh inning, Charles Rainone led off with a solo home run, cutting Farmingdale’s lead to 3-2. However, Clancy took back control of the game, striking out three of the last four batters to secure the win.
Clancy got the win for Farmingdale, and Czeczotka was saddled with the loss.
Farmingdale 0, St. Joseph’s 12 (7 Innings)
While St. Joseph’s offense was stifled in the first game, they completely woke up in the second game, scoring runs in all but two innings. While they scored three runs early in the game on a groundout, a wild pitch and an RBI single from Brian Forbes, they did most of their damage in the later innings, scoring nine runs in the last three innings.
The scoring started in the fifth when two runners scored on a single and an error from Hermes Abreu. Paul Gugliuzzo put together a two run inning of his own in the sixth, hitting an RBI single and then stealing home when Forbes stole second base. Their biggest inning was the seventh, when they scored five runs. Ryan Decoursey hit an RBI single, Forbes hit a two-run double, Phil Krpata hit an RBI double and Joe Sanguedolce hit an RBI triple to give them a 12-0 lead.
Charles Aurandt picked up where Czeczotka left off in the first game, pitching a complete game two-hit shutout. Much like Czeczotka, he mostly pitched to contact, only striking out three batters. Additionally, he controlled the zone very well, only allowing one walk on top of the two hits.
He got the win for St. Joseph’s, and Danny Wolf took the loss for Farmingdale.
Old Westbury 2, USMMA 5 (7 Innings)
USMMA jumped out on top quickly in this game, scoring two runs in the first inning of this game. Noah Herdman started the game off with an RBI single, and Derek Vanasse drove in Herdman with a sacrifice fly.
Neither team scored for three innings after this until Old Westbury avoided the shutout in the fifth inning after Jaime Barrios hit an RBI groundout to cut the deficit to 2-1. USMMA responded in a big way in the bottom half of the inning, scoring three runs to extend their lead to 5-1. Travis Leatherwood hit a two-run double, and Jared Chambers extended the lead with an RBI single.
Old Westbury scored one more run on a sacrifice fly from Charlie Eisele, but it wasn’t enough, as Tyler Reistetter put the finishing touches on a complete game for USMMA to close out the game. He finished with eight strikeouts, only allowing four hits.
He got the win for USMMA, and Justin Aviles got the loss for Old Westbury.
Old Westbury 5, USMMA 14
Most of the action in this game began in the fifth inning, with USMMA leading 2-1. In the top of the fifth, Old Westbury had their first multi-run inning of the day. Marcello Arrigo got the inning started with a game-tying RBI double, and Jacob Taormina put Old Westbury ahead 4-2 with a two-run double.
USMMA responded immediately with three runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth inning. Jared Chambers hit a two-run single to tie the game and Jack Millen gave them a lead they wouldn’t relinquish with an RBI double. After this inning, USMMA outscored Old Westbury 9-1 over the last four innings.
A highlight from this stretch is that USMMA received a pair of RBI triples from Chambers and Tyler Reistetter. Other contributions included an RBI single from Noah Herdman, an RBI double from Garrett Clapsaddle, and a two-run double by Brayden O’Connell with a third run on that play coming from an error.
Michael Monkevich earned the win on the mound for USMMA, and Eddie Guzman took the loss for Old Westbury
Overall, teams on Long Island went 9-7 today, with multiple Long Island teams facing off against each other.
