by Mike Anderson
The 2022 NCAA baseball season is coming to an end, as we are finally one week into the month of May. The first Friday of the month saw several teams kick off important serieses, as some teams are currently in the middle of a playoff push, if not a regular season crown. Let’s go around the horn to see how the Long Island teams did on Friday.
Division I:
Northeastern blew out Hofstra 13-1 to get back to .500 in the conference. Northeastern could do no wrong, as they dominated the game in every single aspect.
Northeastern hung 12 up on Hofstra before the Pride finally broke through. A seven-run sixth inning for Northeastern put the game out of reach. Northeastern had nine extra-base hits, including six doubles, a triple, and two home runs. Designated hitter Corey DiLoreto led the way for Northeastern by going 4-for-5 with two doubles, a homer, three RBIs and three runs scored.
Eric Yost got the win, as he started and went 5.1 innings, only allowing one run on two hits. Northeastern’s arms limited Hofstra to just the one run on only six hits.
The two are scheduled to meet for game two on Saturday at 1:00 p.m..
Fordham split a doubleheader at Rhode Island, winning game one but dropping game two.
Gabe Karslo started game one for Fordham and gave them five solid innings, allowing only two runs on six hits. The offense spotted him five runs, carried by left fielder Jake Guercio’s two-run single in the fourth.
Rhode Island began to climb their way back, scoring three unanswered to cut the score to 5-4. However, Joseph Quintal came out of the bullpen for Fordham and racked up a four-out save.
Rhode Island made up for their scoring deficiencies in game two, as they scored ten runs on 16 hits in a 10-6 route of Fordham. Shortstop Addison Kopack and left fielder Eric Genther carried the offense, going a combined 7-for-8 with four RBIs and five runs.
Rhode Island’s starter Domenic Picone struggled, allowing six earned runs in five innings. However, three pitchers combined to give them three scoreless innings out of the bullpen to secure the win.
The two teams will take Saturday off, but will meet again Sunday at noon for the decisive game three.
LIU beat up on Bryant 11-5 behind an explosive couple of innings from the bats.
The Sharks ran away with it from the get-go, as they scored six runs in the bottom of the first. Second baseman Christopher Hund smoked a three-run homer to cap it off, and then the game settled down.
Bryant found the scoreboard in the fourth, and added a second run in the fifth. However, LIU answered with a pair in the sixth and put the game away with an eighth-inning three-spot. A pair of homers in the ninth inning from Bryant were wasted, as Nick DeSalvo completed the game for LIU and secured their victory.
The two will meet up again on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. for game two of this series.
Stony Brook walked off UMBC 5-4 in a back-and-forth game to kick off their final series as conference rivals.
One swing: 𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 🤩
🌊🐺 x @LeuthnerStanton x #NCAABaseball pic.twitter.com/NHnzoDAdeZ
— Stony Brook Baseball (@StonyBrookBASE) May 6, 2022
Catcher Shane Paradine and left fielder Matt Brown-Eiring both hit RBI singles in the first to give the Seawolves an early 2-0 lead. That lead did not last, as UMBC crawled back and tied the game in the top of the fifth.
In the top of the eighth, first baseman Luke Trythall broke the tie with a home run to give UMBC a 3-2 lead. However, with two out in the bottom of the eighth, third baseman Evan Giordano worked a nine-pitch at-bat and homered to left-center field. His home run was his career-high eighth of the season, and it gave Stony Brook a 5-4 lead.
However, down to their last strike, UMBC tied the game on an RBI double from right fielder Ian Diaz.
The game went to the bottom of the ninth, where only one pitch was thrown. Shortstop Stanton Leuthner pulled a walk-off home run to left field and won it for Stony Brook.
Game two will be Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Joe Nathan Field.
St. John’s was rained out of their game against Seton Hall. They will play game one on Saturday at 2:00 p.m., and then play a doubleheader on Sunday.
Division II:
Adelphi swept Saint Rose in a doubleheader to kick off their four-game series on Friday.
Game one was a high-scoring affair, as Adelphi took it 11-6. John Rizzo pitched well, allowing only two earned runs on six hits in seven innings. His offense provided him with ample support (11 runs on 17 hits). Center fielder Cooper Johnson had the biggest day, going 2-for-5 with a double, a homer, and four RBIs.
In game two, they beat Saint Rose 4-1 in a seven-inning ballgame behind a gem from Michael Storms.
Storms allowed only four hits through six innings and did not give up a run. They gave him early run support when third baseman Matt Alifano led off the game with a home run. Alifano went 1-for-1 with that homer and three walks on the day.
Left fielder Alex Rende had their only other RBI with an RBI single in the sixth. Adelphi took advantage of Saint Rose’s mistakes behind the plate to scratch across two extra runs.
Saint Rose broke up the shutout in the seventh, but didn’t do much else. With the sweep, Adelphi improved to 16-5-1 in NE10 games. Games three and four will be part of another doubleheader on Saturday, and will also be Adelphi’s last two games of the regular season. First pitch is at noon.
Molloy had their doubleheader against D’Youville University canceled due to rain. They have another doubleheader scheduled for Saturday, with the games starting at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m..
Likely due to the impending bad weather, Queens did not have a game scheduled for Friday. They do not play on Saturday, either. They will play next on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. against Mercy for game two of the series.
Division-III:
The Skyline Conference tournament was postponed due to inclement weather. They will try again next week beginning on Friday, May 13.
