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Saturday College Recap (2/24) Powered by Orlin & Cohen

By Mike Merolle 

A dramatic upset win for LIU over Miami, a mercy-ruled game, and hot win streaks highlight Saturday’s NCAA baseball. 

Division-I 

LIU 4 — Miami 2 

It was a stunning ninth inning for the LIU Sharks as Noah Sorensen broke the tie with a solo home run. The Sharks defeated Miami in an upset 4-2 win on Saturday at Alex Rodriguez Park in Coral Gables, Fla. for their first victory of the season. 

It was a pitcher duel for most of the game. On the bump for LIU was Dominic Pieto who pitched five innings striking out three and allowing two earned runs on four hits. For the Hurricanes, Rafe Schlesinger (Sachem East 2021) pitched a stellar six innings. Schlesinger struck out seven batters and allowed one unearned run. 

The slow game came to a dramatic finish. Jake Mastillo tied the game at two with a solo home run in the top of the eighth. Sorensen broke the 2-2 tie in the ninth with his home run. Following him, Seth Surrett hit a sacrifice fly extending the lead to 4-2. Jack VanDoran earned the save after closing out the Hurricanes in the ninth with one strikeout. Matt Galli was rewarded the win for LIU. The freshman gets his first win after pitching two innings with two walks and a strikeout. 

LIU will look to take the series win against Miami on Sunday at 1 p.m. EST.

Fordham 2 — Maine 16 (7 innings) 

It was a disappointing afternoon for the Rams as they were mercy-ruled in seven innings by Maine 16-2. The contest took place at Stetson University’s Melching Field in Deland, Fla. Fordham looked to keep the early-season momentum coming off a victory against Army on Friday but could not do so. 

Maine produced immediately in the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back home runs. The blasts were done by Jake Marquez and Jeremiah Jenkins, their second home runs of the season. Fordham showed promise after immediately tying it up thanks to an RBI double by Michael Brueser and a sacrifice fly by Madden Ocko. From there on, it was all Maine. 

Nine different Black Bears had RBIs. In the front of the pack was Marquez with three and Nick White and Myles Sargent with two. The winning pitcher, Jason Kreiger, threw five innings with six strikeouts and two earned runs. It’s the freshman’s first collegiate victory. Fordham’s starting pitcher, Nate Scott, received the loss after allowing five earned runs in 2.2 innings pitched. This was Maine’s first win of their season making their record 1-4. 

Fordham will return to Melching Field to take on Stetson on their home turf on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. EST. 

Hofstra 4 — Liberty 9 

Hofstra came up short in Saturday’s contest against Liberty losing 9-4. After beating them on Friday 9-7, the Pride couldn’t put another game in the win column. 

The game went scoreless for half the game. Liberty starter Garrett Horn pitched six innings only giving up four hits and recording nine strikeouts. On the opposite end, Steven Kaenzig was on the mound for five innings only allowing two hits but giving up four earned runs. 

Despite scoring nine runs, Liberty only had five hits in the game. The majority of the scoring came in the sixth inning as Liberty scored eight runs. Kane Kepley hit a home run and registered four RBIs. Cam Foster hit a double and recorded 3 RBIs in that inning. Camden Troyer tripled to right center scoring Foster. 

Hofstra’s offense was led by Sean Lane and Luke Masiuk providing a home run each. Masiuk finished the game with 2 RBIs. Alex McCoy had two hits and one RBI for the Pride.

Hofstra’s record moves to 1-4. They’ll look for redemption on Sunday as they close their series with Liberty at 1 p.m. EST. 

Stony Brook 5 — Northwestern 1 

After an incredible upset win against LSU on Friday, Stony Brook defeated Northwestern on Saturday 5-1 to improve their record to 3-4. The game was played in Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. 

Nick Rizzo was impressive on the mound for the Seawolves. The southpaw earned the win with eight innings pitched, four strikeouts, and one earned run on eight hits allowed. 

Stony Brook scored two unearned runs in the third with Evan Fox scoring one and Cam Santierre scoring one off a Matt Brown-Eiring RBI single. Erik Paulsen, who pitched the final four innings of Friday’s win over LSU, recorded three hits and one run scored on the night. 

Stony Brook will look to keep the streak going as they rematch LSU on Sunday at 2 p.m. EST. 

St. John’s 2 — Houston 7 

St. John’s lost their second straight game to the Houston Cougars, 7-2. Their record falls to 1-2 on the season. The contest took place Saturday night at Schroeder Park. 

The Saturday night loss showed more promise than Friday night’s loss. Joe Mascio had a 1-2-3 inning to start the game but surrendered a home run to Tre Jones in the bottom of the second. The home run was Houston’s only hit through three innings until Jones struck again with an RBI single and Cameron Nickens followed with one of his own. Jake Rainess had one hit and an HBP for two RBIs on the night. 

A bright spot for the Johnnies in this young season is leadoff man Jackson Tucker. Like in Friday’s game, Tucker had two RBIs and two hits. The remaining three hits the Johnnies put together came from Anthony Brienza with two and Paul Orbon with one. 

St. John’s will look to close the Houston series on a brighter note on Sunday at 2 p.m. EST.

Division-II 

Chestnut Hill vs Molloy (doubleheader) 

Game 1: Chestnut Hill 2 — Molloy 3 

Game 2: Chestnut Hill 12 — Molloy 16 

Molloy came away with two wins in their doubleheader against Chestnut Hill on Saturday. The two contests were held on Ebbets Field at the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, SC. 

The two games held different paces. The pitchers mainly controlled the first game. Molloy’s JC Kiss pitched six innings with six strikeouts and allowed two earned runs. Timmy Mott earned the save by pitching three innings with four strikeouts. The Lions’ offense was led by JJ Devito going 2-for-4 with a double, a run, and a RBI. 

The second game was a battle of the bats. Matt Yip gave Molloy the lead in the first with a three-run home run. Yip finished the afternoon with another home run, three hits, and five RBIs (six RBIs in both games). Also batting multiple runs in were Devito, Aidan Larkin, and Thomas Lebrecht. 

At one point, Molloy led 8-0. Two doubles, courtesy of Dan Ciotti and RJ Huth, put two runs on the board for Chestnut Hill. Their offense started clicking at the bottom of the fourth as the Griffins put up four runs cutting their deficit in half 12-6. In the end, Molloy’s non-stop scoring bested Chestnut Hill’s and it keeps the Griffins without a win in 2024 as their record moves to 0-3. 

Molloy improves to 6-0 on the season and will aim to keep the streak going tomorrow. The Lions will take on Southern New Hampshire in Myrtle Beach on Sunday at 9 a.m. EST. 

Mercy — Adelphi (doubleheader) 

Game 1: Mercy 5 —Adelphi 3 

Game 2: Mercy 5— Adelphi 12 (7 innings) 

Adelphi split their Saturday doubleheader against Mercy. Both games were held on Polo Grounds field at the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, SC.

An early-game lead for Adelphi in game one was not enough to earn their first victory of the year as the Panthers were defeated by Mercy, 5-3. Mercy’s power bats took them across the finish line in the Saturday afternoon thriller. 

With the bases loaded in the first inning, Jack Wishner hit a three-run RBI triple to put Adelphi on the board. That would be Adelphi’s only offensive production for the rest of the game. Mercy’s Gabe Sanders scored on a wild pitch in the fourth inning bringing the Adelphi lead down to 3-2. Following that John Nisco hit an RBI single scoring Jaden Caballero to tie the game. In the seventh inning, cleanup hitter Zac Ashline hit a two-run homer to put the nail in the coffin and give Mercy their 5-3 win in game one. 

A seven-inning game two ended in Adelphi’s favor as the Panthers were able to secure their first win of the season, 12-5. Adelphi produced four early runs in the first inning. Alec Maag had a three-RBI night with Phillip D’Aguanno and Anthony Rigogliosi behind him with two each. Michael Robinson also had an RBI double in the first. Dawson Montesa pitched for the win with five strikeouts and two earned runs in five innings. 

Adelphi will look to add to the win column when they play Bridgeport tomorrow at 3 p.m. EST. 

Queens — Post (doubleheader) 

Game 1: Queens 7 — Post 3 

Game 2: Queens 9 — Post 3 (7 innings) 

Queens completed a Saturday sweep in their doubleheader against Post. Both contests were held on Ebbets Field at the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, SC. 

In game one, Queens got the early lead as a few Post mistakes gave them a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Phillip Krpata stole home in the first and Thomas Napolitano Jr. scored on a wild pitch in the second. It only took an inning for Post to tie the game at 3-3, but an unearned run on a passed ball by Michael Pave and a Napolitano Jr. home run gave Queens the lead, 5-3. A sacrifice fly by Napolitano Jr. and an RBI single by Michael Villardi in the eighth finished the game’s scoring. 

On the mound, Nate Rodriguez recorded his first win of the season. Rodriguez pitched 4.1 scoreless innings with two strikeouts and allowed five hits. Caleb Cassie went for 2.2 innings striking out three but allowing two earned runs on three hits. Danny

Gargano received the save after pitching the final two innings and striking out four batters. 

In a 7-inning game two, Queens went on an offensive rampage early. The Knights produced a five-run first inning. Jorsixt Jimenez hit a two-run RBI double and stole home for a run, Francis Segarra scored on a passed ball, and Joey Patane hit an RBI single. The Queens offense took off from there. Nick Barreiros and Krpata hit RBI doubles in the third inning extending the lead to 9-1. 

Christopher Naronis earned the win with four innings pitched, a strikeout, and three earned runs on six hits. Nick Kozerski earned the save with three innings pitched allowing zero hits. 

Queens will face Chestnut Hill on Sunday in Myrtle Beach at noon EST. Division-III 

Utica 0 — Maritime 6 

Maritime is starting the 2024 season strong after winning their first game of the season against Utica, 6-0. The Saturday contest took place at SIUH Community Park on Staten Island. 

It was a stellar outing on the mound for the Maritime pitching staff. Matt Demme was awarded the win after pitching four innings and striking out four batters. Joe Sorge pitched 3.1 innings and struck out three. Jack Kellner earned the save after pitching 1.2 innings with two strikeouts. The trio pitched a one-hitter in their victory over Utica. 

Alex Bardi opened the scoring for Maritime in the second with an RBI single. It was Bardi’s first collegiate hit. Later that inning, Rob Copozzi scored on a wild pitch making the score 2-0. Similarly, Freddy Forgione scored on a wild pitch in the seventh inning extending the lead to 3-0. The wild pitches continued as Harry Leipold scored on one in the eighth inning. Forgione hit an RBI double in the eighth to push the Maritime lead to 6-0. 

Maritime will face off against Utica again on Sunday in a doubleheader. The first game is scheduled for 11 a.m. EST and the second game is at 1:30 p.m. EST. 

SUNY Old Westbury 2 — Kean 25

Kean put on an offensive show at home scoring 25 runs with 23 hits in their victory over SUNY Old Westbury on Saturday. The two schools played each other on February 15 where Kean won 15-0. This time around, it was the consistent hitting by the Kean Cougars that kept shutting the door on SUNY Old Westbury. 

The Panthers’ two runs came from two home runs. One came in the top of the second by Mike Petrucelly. The other was done in the top of the sixth by Mateo Martinez. Jacob Taormina, Jaime Barrios, James Sill, Rob Manetta, and Brian McCloskey accounted for the rest of SUNY Old Westbury’s nine hits. Louis Pizzileo was given the loss after allowing five earned runs in one inning pitched. 

Kean’s offensive production came from nearly the entire squad. 23 players saw action in Saturday’s contest. Six players had multiple hits and six recorded multiple RBIs. Leading the way was Tim Wright scoring two runs with three hits in three at-bats including a triple. Nick Coppola made a splash hitting a home run and recording three RBIs. Gianni Marano also hit one out of the park and scored two runs. Nolan Rowan earned his second win of the season after a strong outing. Rowan pitched five innings allowing one run and striking out a batter. Alex Ciccone and Connor Ramsey finished off the game on the mound combining for five strikeouts and one earned run. 

SUNY Old Westbury’s record goes to 0-2. The Panthers will return to action next Saturday with a doubleheader at home against Union College.

 

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Vinny is the President of Axcess Baseball. He is a 2013 graduate of Adelphi University and he is currently the Long Island area scout for the San Diego Padres

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