by Andy Smith
It is week two of the college baseball season for all of the Division-I programs, and the Division-II programs are in action as well. Here’s how it went down…
St. John’s
WE HAVE THE LEAD! Paul Orbon does it AGAIN!! pic.twitter.com/SQKmcyB2g0
— St. John’s Baseball (@StJohnsBaseball) February 25, 2023
The Johnnies overcame a late 5-3 deficit on the road at Tulane and came away with an impressive 6-5 comeback.
Aaron Mann, who was a triple shy of the cycle, got the Johnnies going offensively with a 2-R HR in the fourth inning to give them a 2-1 lead. The lead did not last long as Tulane tied it up against Fauci in the home half of the fourth. Catcher Brennan Lambert gave Tulance a 4-2 lead with a 2-R double in the fifth. St. John’s inched closer on a sac fly by Tate Ballestero to score Jackson Tucker. A solo shot by Brady Marget extended the lead to 5-3 in favor of Tulane until the top of the ninth. Jace Jeremiah tied it up with a fielder’s choice that was scored an error on the shortstop. Paul Orbon came up huge with an RBI single that was misplayed by the left fielder to allow him to get to third and score Jeremiah and give St. John’s a 6-5 lead. Chuck Sanzio came on and locked it down for St. John’s to improve to 2-2 on the young season.
These two teams will be back in action tomorrow at 7pm.
LIU
Donny Cash leaving the yard is the content you love to see 💪#BeDifferent | #TheSaw ⚾️ 🦉 pic.twitter.com/rIKbXn5Lff
— Kennesaw State Baseball (@KSUOwlsBaseball) February 24, 2023
LIU opened up a three game set at Kennesaw State earlier today. The Sharks fell to the host Owls by a score of 15-2. The Owls had complete control of the game, jumping out to a six run lead by the fourth inning. The Sharks only runs came off the bat of 2B/3B Christopher Hund in the fifth inning via a two-run homerun. Nick Zegna registered his first win of the young campaign and struck out ten Sharks along the way. PJ Moritz provided a solid relief outing throwing 1.1 shutout innings for LIU. The Sharks look to even up the series Saturday at 2 P.M. EST.
Fordham
Fordham dropped a close game against Old Dominion by a score of 10-6. The Rams fought hard and battled back throughout the entire afternoon. Old Dominion jumped out to an early two run lead but the Rams were able to respond in the top of the fifth inning. A home run by catcher Will Findlay cut the lead in half. Then a string of base hits gave the Rams a two run lead. However, Fordham could not contain the Old Dominion response in the bottom of the fifth. When the inning was over, the Lions found themselves leading by five runs. Fordham continued to fight back but could not complete the comeback. Center Fielder Thomas Wheeler tallied two RBI doubles and scored two runs for the Lions. Fordham looks to even up the series at 2:00 PM EST on Saturday.
Hofstra
B7 | #Hofstra takes a 5-4 lead on this 2-run double from Brian Morrell. #PrideOfLI pic.twitter.com/Y0nrcL9tBq
— Hofstra Baseball (@HofstraBaseball) February 24, 2023
The Pride continued their late game heroics and completed another comeback in the final innings. The University of Albany was leading the entire afternoon, but in the eighth inning the Pride came alive. Hofstra tallied six runs in the eighth, which pushed them over the top. Designated hitter Brian Morrell was a major contributor today, bringing in three runs (one being the game winner) and tallying four hits. Left Fielder Will Kennedy then extended the Pride lead with a two run RBI double in the eighth inning. The Great Danes did not give up, cutting into the Hofstra lead in the ninth inning via an RBI single by left fielder Owen Silliman. However, Mike McKenna was able to hold the lead and seal the 11 – 8 victory. The Pride look to continue to ride off their momentum Sunday at 1:00PM EST.
Stony Brook
The Seawolves continued their slow start, and were unable to tame the Troy University bats. The Trojans registered nine hits and won by a score of 9-4.Stony Brook jumped out to an early lead courtesy of Evan Giordano. The third baseman was a force in the batter’s box bringing home three of Stony Brook’s four runs. A home run by Kyle Mock woke up the Troy bats in the fifth inning which resulted in eight consecutive runs for the Trojans over the rest of the afternoon. Both Keaton Fuller (who was credited for the win) and Noah Manning did not surrender any runs out of the bullpen for Troy. Stony Brook will look to get into the win column Saturday in the middle game of the three game set against Troy.
Division-II:
Molloy
The Lions continued their undefeated start in 2023. Molloy took care of business in a double header set on Friday sweeping the pair from the University of Bridgeport by scores of 6-2 and 10-2. First baseman Jake McCarthy led the way once again for the Lions, tallying five RBI’s and four hits across both games. Charlie Cucchiara posted his second straight quality start, as he threw seven shutout innings and struck out nine in the first game. The second game was won thanks to the Molloy bats. Right fielder Tom Lebrecht tallied two triples and brought in three runs. Molloy looks to continue their great start Saturday against Wilmington University (Delaware) at 11:00 AM EST.
Adelphi
The Panthers began their season in Myrtle Beach, SC against Post University. The Eagles edged out the Panthers in a back and forth game. The Eagles jumped on starter John Rizzo early but the Panthers continually fought back. Kyle Olson hit an RBI triple which evened the score in the third inning. Danny Gill was clutch for Post all afternoon, tallying two RBIs doubles which tied the game both times. Robert Olah knocked an RBI double in the eighth inning that served as the difference maker. In addition, Jacob Tamburrino sealed the victory for the Eagles, pitching 2.1 innings of relief and only surrendering one run. The Panthers are back at it Saturday for a double header against the College of Staten Island.
