by Andy Smith
It wasn’t the greatest weather on Long Island on Saturday, so there wasn’t too many of the local teams in action. But here’s how it went down…
Division-I:
St. John’s 6, William and Mary 15
Designated hitter Tate Ballestero launched a two-run shot in the opening frame to give the Red Storm an early lead. The Tribe responded in the bottom half of the inning with two home runs, one each by third baseman Ben Williamson (2 RBI) and center fielder Joe Delossanots (1 RBI) to grab the lead. William and Mary launched another homerun the following inning, this time by first baseman Cole Ragone, which brought in two more. The Red Strom got back on the scoreboard in the fourth with an RBI knock by shortstop Jace Jeremiah which cut the lead to just two. However, power was the centerpiece of the Tribe offense today as they launched another homerun in the bottom half of the frame, thanks to a second blast by Ragone which drove in two more. William and Mary tacked on two more runs in the fifth and six more in the sixth inning. Second baseman Corey Adams brought in two with a single and Delossantos ripped an RBI triple which scored two during this stretch. St. John’s couldn’t overcome the deficit, but they did tally two more runs in the seventh, courtesy of an RBI single by Ballestero and one more in the eighth off a knock by right fielder Luke Orbon. St. John’s will look to avoid a sweep on Sunday at 1:00 PM EST.
Stony Brook 8, Hofstra 10
The Sea Wolves jumped out to an early lead in the first courtesy of an RBI single by third baseman Evan Giordano. The Pride responded with two runs in the second half of the frame off two RBI hits by left fielder Will Kennedy and catcher Kevin Bruggeman. Stony Brook got back on top in the third on an RBI double by designated hitter Shane Paradine, which tied the game and a sacrifice fly by first baseman Brett Paulsen, which gave them the lead. Hofstra responded with two runs of their own to grab the lead right back with two RBI singles by first baseman Steve Harrington and designated hitter Anthony D’Onofrio. The Pride launched two solo shots in the fifth, one each by Bruggeman and Harrington to extend their lead. Stony Brook cut the lead to two in the sixth off an RBI triple by center fielder Evan Fox. However the Pride kept attacking pitches and responded with four runs in the same inning. A two-run home run by Brian Morrell capped off the run. Stony Brook attempted a rally but fell two runs short. However, a two-run blast by Paulsen and a fielding error kept the game close. The rubber match will take place Sunday at 1:00 PM EST.
Fordham 7, Davidson 23
First baseman Will Findlay lined an RBI double which opened the scoring in the first inning for Fordham. The Wildcats responded by tallying three runs in the bottom half of the frame which was kickstarted by a home run by third baseman Nick Calero. The Rams launched solo shots in the third and fourth innings, one each by center fielder Ryan Thiesse and catcher Tommy McAndrews. However, in the bottom half of the fourth, Davidson took complete control of the game and tallied thirteen runs and then followed it up with four more in the fifth. Center fielder Ryan Wilson tallied four RBIs and three hits and first baseman O’Shaughnessy crushed a three-run shot during this stretch. Shortstop Jacob Hinderleider tallied four RBIs including two hits in which one of them went deep in the seventh. Fordham looks to avoid a series sweep Sunday at 1:00 PM EST.
USMMA/Old Westbury
Game 1: USMMA 7, Old Westbury 8
Game 2: USMMA 3, Old Westbury 5
Both teams got on the board in the second with second baseman Ernest Darling launching a solo shot for Merchant Marine, and Jamie Barrios answering by lining a two-run double for Westbury. USMAA then tallied six runs in the third, highlighted by three RBI singles, one each by shortstop Jared Chambers, first baseman/designated hitter Travis Leatherwood, and Darling. The Panthers responded by tallying one run in the bottom half of the frame off an RBI double by third baseman Nick Papageorge. Westbury continued to claw back and tallied a solo shot in the fifth courtesy of right fielder Jamal Ritter. Westbury reduced the Marine lead to just one in the sixth off an RBI single by first baseman Oscar Fajardo. The Panthers completed the comeback in the final frame (seventh inning) and then proceeded to walk it off with an RBI base on balls and hit by pitch respectively.
In the second game, Merchant Marine opened the scoring in the third with two solo shots courtesy of left fielder Joey Zanetti and third baseman Jack Millen. Westbury got on the scoresheet in the fourth off an RBI groundout and an RBI single by Barrios which brought the score to within one. The Panthers then evened the score in the following inning off a single up the middle by center fielder John Dell’Olio. A two-run blast by Papageorge powered them over the top in the eighth. Justin Aramini tallied his first win of the season after throwing two no-hit innings of relief with one strikeout. Old Westbury will play a double header against Purchase College on Sunday beginning at 11:00 AM and USMAA will take on DeSales on Thursday at 7:00 PM EST.
