by Andy Smith
Division-I:
St. John’s 3, William and Mary 4
The bats were quiet through two until St. John’s opened the scoring with a three-run third inning. Catcher Tate Ballestero crushed a two-run shot and center fielder David Glancy hit a solo home run. This would be the only chance for the Red Storm to get on the scoresheet. The Tribe got their first run on board in the bottom half of the third off a solo blast by catcher Nate Goranson. William and Mary got within one in the sixth off an RBI single by first baseman Cole Ragone. The Tribe tied the game thanks to an RBI double play in the seventh. William and Mary walked off the game thanks to a Red Storm fielding error that allowed Goranson to cross home plate. These teams will continue the three-game set Saturday at 4:00 PM EST.
Stony Brook 8, Hofstra 6
Took care of business today 😎
🌊🐺 x #NCAABaseball pic.twitter.com/80vnzCJN2i
— Stony Brook Baseball (@StonyBrookBASE) March 31, 2023
Third baseman Evan Giordano of Stony Brook has been all over the scoresheet this season and opened the scoring in the first inning with a solo shot. The Pride evened the score in the bottom half of the opening frame with an RBI groundout. The Seawolves launched their second long ball of the game in the third inning to reclaim the lead, courtesy of backstop Ryan Micheli. Stony Brook tacked on another run in the fourth via an RBI single by second baseman Johnny Pilla. Hofstra drew within one run in the fifth by scoring off a fielding error. Stony Brook responded the following inning with their third and final solo shot of the day, this time by designated hitter Shane Paradine to give them a two-run lead. Hofstra continued to fight back all day and tallied once again to close the gap to just one run with a sacrifice fly. In the seventh, Paradine found himself back on the scoresheet, this time with a three-run RBI double. In the bottom half of the seventh, Hofstra tallied two runs, one via an RBI double by center fielder Anthony D’Onofrio and an RBI groundout by shortstop Michael Florides. Hofstra got within one run of the Stony Brook lead again in the eighth thanks to a solo blast by first baseman Steve Harrington. The Seawolves tacked on their final run of the game in the ninth inning off an RBI double by left fielder Matt Brown-Eiring. Josh O’Neill finished his three inning save with a shutout inning in the ninth to shut the door. Ben Fero tallied his second win of the season by throwing six innings of two run ball with five punchouts. Despite the loss, designated hitter Dylan Palmer registered two hits for the Pride. The two local teams are back on Saturday for the second game of the three game series at 1:00 PM EST.
LIU
Game 1: LIU 6, Sacred Heart 5
Game 2: LIU 6, Sacred Heart 16
The Sharks got out to an early lead in the first game of the day with a two-run opening innings thanks to an RBI single by designated hitter Jake Mastillo and an RBI double by first baseman JC Navarro. LIU continued to attack pitches and tallied three more runs in the following inning. Left fielder Carlton Harper lined a two-run RBI double and Mastillo knocked his second RBI single of the day. Sacred Heart launched two solo shots, both by shortstop Sam Mongelli, one in the third inning and the other in the fifth inning to bring the score within three. The Pioneers continued to rally and scored their third run of the day in the eighth inning off an RBI single by second baseman Ryan Donnelly. The Sharks got back on the board with an RBI base on balls in the bottom half of the same frame. In the ninth, Sacred Heart fell just short of completing the comeback, but they managed to score twice off a two-run blast by pinch hitter Tyler Galletti. Jack VanDoran then entered the game for LIU to secure the final two outs and tally his first save of the season. Alec Huertas was strong once again on the mound and won his third game of the season by throwing seven innings of two run ball with seven strikeouts.
In the second game, Sacred Heart got out to a two run lead in the opening inning off a fielder’s choice and fielding error. LIU quickly tied the game in the bottom half of the frame with two RBI knocks, one each by Navarro and right fielder Jarod Wade. The Pioneers reclaimed their lead in the third with an RBI single by third baseman Tim McGuire. Sacred Heart got on the board again to double their lead in the fifth with an RBI knock by designated hitter Dante D’Amore. The Sharks tallied three runs in the second half of the frame and claimed the lead thanks to a fielder’s choice and a two-run RBI double by catcher/second baseman Jack Power. The Pioneers reclaimed their lead in the following inning and didn’t look back. A solo shot by catcher Dennis Gamester evened the score, and the second baseman brought in two runs with a single. Sacred Heart then tacked on three more runs in the eighth, which was highlighted by an RBI knock from left fielder Michael Simonelli. In the final frame, Sacred Heart tallied six more runs. Pinch hitter Mark Smith drove in two, and right fielder Zack Kovalchik lined a double to bring home one. The Sharks scored in the bottom half of the ninth off a wild pitch. These teams will play the rubber match on Sunday at 1:00 PM EST.
Division-II:
Queens 4, Southern Connecticut 3 (10 Innings)
SoCo jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the second inning thanks to an error and a sac fly but Queen’s starter, Liam Pulsipher, settled into a nice rhythm after that. The Knights got on the board in the fifth inning on a solo shot by Nick Barreiros. They tied it up later in the inning, when Marc Cisco struck out but the drop third strike got away allowing Joseph Cornielle to score. Francis Segarra came through with an RBI single to score Jayson Rodopopoulos and give Queens a 3-2 lead. SoCo was able to tie the game in the 9th inning on an RBI single by Connor Goggin which brought the game to extras, but the Knights took the lead on a bases loaded HBP of Jorsixt Jimenez. Danny Gargano earned the win in relief with 4 strikeouts, allowing 1 ER.
The teams will be back in action tomorrow with a DH, the Knights will look to stay red-hot as they are now 16-5.
Molloy 0, College of Staten Island 11
The Dolphins had control of this game from start to finish. Staten Island tallied two runs in the first off a two-run single by first baseman Anthony Vigliotti. Vigliotti had lots of ink on his scoresheet in this one, tallying three runs, three hits and six runs batted in. Staten Island put up four more runs in the second from a double by Vigliotti, an RBI single by designated hitter Shendi Ulaj, and a fielder’s choice. Vigliotti then brought in his fifth and sixth runs of the day in the fourth with a two-run shot. The Dolphins continued the attack, scoring three more in the sixth which was highlighted by two RBI singles, one each by left fielder Bryan Birkhead and by shortstop Nick Cippolett. Ryan Kehoe led the way with a complete game shutout with eleven strikeouts while only surrendering four hits. Molloy will look to bounce back with a double header on Sunday beginning at 12:00 PM EST.
Farmingdale/St. Joseph’s
Game 1: Farmingdale 6, Saint Joseph’s 0
Game 2: Farmingdale 4, Saint Joseph’s 7
The Rams grabbed the first lead of the day in the second inning off three one-run RBI doubles, one each by designated hitter Daniel Deustch, third baseman Nolan White, and second baseman Patrick Dallas. Farmingdale put up two more runs on the board in the following inning, which was highlighted by an RBI double courtesy of catcher Louis Annuziata. The Rams tacked on their final run of the day in the fourth off an RBI knock by center fielder Ryan Wasserman. Johnny Dougherty threw an impressive complete game shutout (seven innings) with eleven strikeouts and only gave up four hits.
Both teams scored once in the first inning of the second game. Deustch lined an RBI single and shortstop Ryan Decoursey hit a sacrifice fly for the Golden Eagles. Wasserman then grabbed the lead for the Rams by scoring off a ball put in play by Jordan Lambert. Saint Joseph’s responded in the bottom half of the inning with two runs to grab the lead. Decoursey hit an RBI double and designated hitter John Lynch lined an RBI triple. The Golden Eagles extended their lead in the fourth by tacking on two more off an RBI double by first baseman Nick Vicino and an RBI single by left fielder Jake Giannico. Saint Joseph’s tallied their fifth run in the fifth inning by way of an RBI on a hit by pitch. The Rams offense got going again in both the sixth and seventh innings. An RBI double by White and an RBI single by Lambert brought them within two runs. The Golden Eagles tallied their final run which gave them some insurance in the eighth thanks to an RBI single by center fielder Paul Gugliuzzo. The Rams will play a double header on Sunday against Mahattanville beginning at 12:00 PM EST and the Golden Eagles will also play a double header Sunday against Mt. Saint Mary’s starting at 12:00 PM EST.
