by Mike Merolle
As the season nears the end of April, loads of action happened on Saturday. A few Division-I teams saw themselves digging out of an early deficit, Division-II and Division-III saw many doubleheaders, and a walk-off home run earned a team a victory.
Division-I
St. John’s 8 — Butler 7
The Johnnies made a comeback in Saturday’s matchup against Butler at Jack Kaiser Stadium.
Butler got the early 4-0 lead after getting six hits in the first inning. St. John’s got going in the bottom of the fourth. Marty Higgins hit a single and stole second to put him in scorer’s position. Chad Falcon drove him home with a single and Garrett Scavelli laid a bunt allowing Falcon to score making it 4-2 Butler.
A Butler error in the bottom of the seventh allowed a St. John’s run to cut the deficit to one. Higgins struck again later in the inning driving in two to give St. John’s the lead. The Red Storm bats heated more in the eighth scoring three more runs. Anthony Brienza hit an RBI double, Jackson Tucker hit an RBI triple, and Ben Beauchamp hit a sacrifice fly to make it 8-4.
Butler started their rally with a three-run ninth inning but Sam Mettert struck out the final batter to save the game for St. John’s.
St. John’s will face Butler for the series finale on Sunday at noon in Queens.
Stony Brook 8 — Towson 7
Stony Brook made a late rally to edge them over Towson on Saturday. They won the game in walk-off fashion off of a balk.
Towson dominated the early game scoring five runs by the third inning. The Seawolves scored three of their own in the third thanks to Evan Fox’s sacrifice fly, Matt Miceli’s RBI single, and Matt Brown-Eiring driving in one on a groundout.
Towson scored two more in the fourth and sixth but Stony Brook kept chipping away. The Seawolves were hit by pitches three straight times loading the bases Brown-Eiring. He hit a sacrifice fly and Stony Brook scored another run off a Towson error making it 7-5. Johnny Pilla grounded out while scoring one in to make the Seawolves score six.
Brett Paulsen tied the game at seven after knocking one to right field. In the 10th, Fox started the frame with a hit that would lead to him getting the game-winning balk.
Stony Brook looks to sweep Towson on Sunday at noon.
LIU 12 — Stonehill 10
The Sharks brought their bats on Saturday to give them the high-scoring victory over Stonehill.
Jake Mastillo’s three-run shot in the third gave LIU a 6-2 lead. Jake Ryan added to it with a two-run double in the sixth regaining the lead 8-6. Carlton Harper was also productive as he plated two in the sixth.
Dominic Pieto was on the mound for the Sharks and had a good outing. Pieto struck out four in five innings getting him his fifth win in 2024.
LIU will look for the sweep against Stonehill on Sunday at 1 pm.
Fordham 8 — Saint Louis 4
The Rams defeated Saint Louis in a game where Fordham plated eight on Saturday.
Saint Louis scored the first two runs of the game in the first and third innings. The Rams gained the lead quickly. Henry Pelinski hit an RBI double, Daniel Bucciero hit an RBI single, and Andrew Kanellis tied it with an RBI infield single.
Fordham added four more in the sixth. Bucciero hit a three-run home run and Kanellis hit his second RBI single of the day. Saint Louis tallied one more but Bucciero matched it with an RBI double of his own to make it 8-4.
Fordham will look to untie the series on Sunday against Saint Louis at noon. Hofstra 5 — Campbell 7
The Pride got an early 3-0 lead thanks to Dylan Palmer hitting an RBI single and Luke Masiuk driving in some in the second.
Campbell responded with five runs. With the score at 5-3, Alex McCoy hit a solo shot and Michael Florides drove one in on a groundout to tie it for Hofstra. Campbell hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the seventh and a solo home run in the ninth to give them a two-run cushion and the eventual win.
Hofstra will play the series finale against Campbell on Sunday at 11 am. Division-II
Adelphi vs Saint Anselm (DH)
Game 1: Adelphi 13 — Saint Anselm 6
Saint Anselm got an early 4-1 lead in game one. Adelphi got rolling as Joe Pellegrino hit a solo shot in the fourth and a three-run homer in the fifth. Michael Robinson followed and hit a solo homer in the sixth and returned to hit a two-run shot in the eighth.
The four-homer game pushed the Panthers over the edge for game one.
Game 2: Adelphi 7 — Saint Anselm 5
Saint Anselm, like in game one, took an early lead. This time, Adelphi had to come back from a 5-2 deficit. Greyson Pizzonia hit an RBI double to make it 5-3.
Anthony Rigogliosi hit a sacrifice fly to bring Adelphi within one. A Saint Anselm balk tied the game allowing an Adelphi runner to cross home. Jack Wishner hit the go-ahead RBI single and Nick Lopez’s RBI single added the insurance run.
Adelphi will play another doubleheader on Sunday against Southern New Hampshire at noon.
Queens vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (DH)
Game 1: Queens 13 — St. Thomas Aquinas 5
The Knights’ offense accounted for 21 hits in game one of the doubleheader. Jorsixt Jimenez led the way with a four-hit game including a home run and 4 RBI. Phillip Krpata, Marc Cisco, and Nick Barreiros combined for 10 hits, six RBIs, and seven runs.
Jimenez’s impact came in the seventh with his home run that gave the Knights a 7-3 lead. St. Thomas Aquinas attempted a rally but the Queens bats already did its damage.
Game 2: Queens 5 — St. Thomas Aquinas 2
Game 2 was more tame but the Knights got the early lead with Cisco’s RBI double. Cisco struck again in the third with an RBI single to make it 2-0 Queens.
St. Thomas Aquinas tied it up with a two-run double in the sixth but Jimenez smacked a RBI single in the ninth to give Queens the lead again. Cisco kept his perfect day going with another RBI single, adding an insurance run for the Knights. Jimenez scored from third while Cisco attempted to take second making it a final score of 5-2.
The two teams will face off again on Sunday at noon for the final game of the series. Division-III
Maritime vs. USMMA (DH)
Game 1: Maritime 4 — USMMA 7
USMMA got the early lead in game one of the doubleheader with two runs in the first. Maritime’s Alex Bardi hit a solo shot to cut the deficit in half. In the third, Bardi was the hero again. This time he hit an RBI single to tie it. A pair of sacrifice flies put USMMA ahead 4-2 but Maritime’s Freddy Forgione hit a solo shot to cut the lead in half again.
USMMA’s Garrett Clapsaddle iced the game with a three-run bomb to give them a 7-3 lead. Maritime scored one more but it wasn’t enough as the Merchant Marine took game one.
Game 2: Maritime 7 — USMMA 5
Game two began in a pitcher’s duel. Maritime’s Matt Demme and USMMA’s Tommy Chiapetti kept the game scoreless through four. USMMA scored the first run of the game off of a Landon Troutt solo home run. Maritime’s Harry Leipold responded with a grand slam giving Maritime a three-run cushion at 4-1.
In the seventh, Troutt did it again with a two-run shot which started a USMMA rally leading to a 5-4 USMMA lead by the end of the inning. In the bottom of the ninth, Bardi hit a three-run, walk-off shot that gave Maritime game 2 by the score of 7-5.
