by George Caratzas
With conference play starting for a couple local teams this week, let’s check out how the action went down on Friday.
Division I:
Delaware 8, Stony Brook 1
The Seawolves dropped their Coastal Athletic Association opener, as some poor defense contributed to a six-run third inning.
Eddie Smink cruised through the first two, and Stony Brook plated a run on a Matt Jackson RBI double in the top of the second.
In the third though, Johnny Pilla misplayed a ball with a runner at second base, opening the door for the Blue Hens. From there, right fielder Aaron Graeber launched a two-run homer to take a 3-1 lead before RBI’s by Brett Lesher and LT Cockrill made it 6-1. Then, Jackson Tyer capped off the scoring with a two-run bomb of his own, making it eight runs for Delaware, six of the unearned.
The Blue Hens trotted out three different arms, with each throwing three innings. Carter Welsh and Jake Pollaro each turned out scoreless outings in relief, earning the win and save, respectively.
Graeber and Tyer each had two hits and a home run while driving in a pair for Delaware. For the Seawolves, catcher Luke Szepek was the only player with multiple hits while Jackson drove in their only run.
Game two is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Winthrop 15, St. John’s 1
The Red Storm made the trip down to South Carolina as they do not start Big East play until April 4. The Eagles had their way early and often, plating five in the first two innings. While St. John’s put up a run in the fourth, Winthrop scoring two in the sixth, and four in both the seventh and eighth to complete the blowout win.
Cole Yearsley had arguably the biggest day, going 3-for-5 with a double and four RBI’s. He also scored twice. Jaylen Hernandez had three singles in three trips while also walking twice, driving in two and scoring three.
Only Jeremiah Jace had more than one hit for St. John’s, as Luke Orbon drove in its only run.
The Eagles bullpen pitched five scoreless innings in relief of starter Shane Keup who went the first four. Johnnies starter David Rodriguez was tagged for five runs in 3 ⅔.
Game two from Rock Hill is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Hofstra 8, Monmouth 6
The Pride started their CAA season 1-0 with a tight victory in West Long Branch, N.J. Hofstra took the lead in the fourth inning by scoring four.
C.J. Griggs drove in the tying run with a single before Bryce Curry and Dylan Palmer gave them the lead with run-scoring singles, going up 6-3. Monmouth tried to claw back by scoring twice in the seventh, but Hofstra put the game away in the eighth inning with a two-spot.
With the bases loaded and one outs, Michael Craig grounded into a fielder’s choice to bring in one run, before getting picked off to end the inning. However, on the pickoff play, Trenton Snyder was able to steal home and put the Pride up 8-5.
The Hawks scored once in the bottom of the eighth, but were blanked in the ninth by Trent Jenks, capping off an 8-6 loss.
Palmer went 2-for-4 with two RBI’s, two stolen bases and a walk. Otherwise, Craig was the Pride’s only player with more than one hit or RBI. He went 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs driven in.
Jackson Bauer got the starter for Hofstra and turned in six innings of three run ball (one earned) while striking out six.
The Pride will go for the series will on Saturday at 1 p.m.
LIU 8, Delaware State 2
The Sharks got above the .500 mark in Northeast Conference play, beating Delaware State 8-2 on the road.
The Hornets actually led for much of the game, scoring a run in the first and seventh to take a 2-0 lead into the eighth inning. However, LIU exploded, scoring two in the eighth and six in the ninth to take a big lead.
Ryan Rivera tied the game, smashing a two-run home run in the eighth. In the ninth, Jack Power drove in the go-ahead run with a run-scoring single and Rivera added an RBI with a sacrifice fly. Now ahead 4-2, a Delaware State error plated a fifth Sharks run before Cord Dobrinski blew the doors off with a three-run homer to extend the lead to 8-2.
Rivera went 1-for-4 with a home run and three RBI’s and Dobrinski went 1-for-3 with a home run and drove in three. Benjamin Fierenzi had the most hits of any Shark with a pair.
Hornets starter Michael Lane went 7 ⅓ one-hit scoreless innings, with 10 strikeouts. LIU starter Garrett Yawn wasn’t too bad in his own right, going six innings while punching seven tickets and giving up just a single earned run.
Game two is set for Saturday at 1 p.m.
Fordham 6, UMASS 0
The Rams improved to 3-1 in Atlantic 10 Conference play with a shutout win over UMass.
The early story for Fordham was its offense, as it plated two runs in each of the first three innings. Matt Dieguez got the scoring started with a two-run single in the first. Andrew Kanellis chipped in a two-run single in the second before a single and a sacrifice fly made it 6-0 in the second.
From there, Aidan Dowd and Robbie Stewart stole the show. Dowd went the first six, striking out eight and giving up four hits. Stewart picked up the save, going the final three innings and allowed just one hit and struck out six.
Four Rams had multiple hits, including Kanellis and Dieguez.
The series’ second game is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday from the Bronx.
Division III:
Game 1: Lawrence 12, Maritime 0
Game 2: Maritime 13, Lawrence 5
The Privateers split a double header at home on Friday and both sides exchanged lopsided victories. Lawrence plated 10 in the first three in game one, sparked by a two-run double by C.J. Filipek. An inning later, Shane Santaga drove in two more with a double to put his side up 4-0. Filipek ended the game 3-for-4 with two runs driven in while Santaga was also 3-for-4 with three RBI’s. Santaga doubled twice in the win.
Lawrence starter Elden Santana went all seven before the game was called due to the run-rule. He did not allow a run and struck out nine while allowing just two hits.
Maritime punched back immediately in the first inning of game two, scoring five. Lawrence scored three in the bottom half of the opening inning. With the score eventually cut to 5-4, the Privateers blew it open in the third. Owen Weber launched a grand slam to put Maritime up 9-4.
Weber finished the day 4-for-5 with the home run and four RBI’s. Alex Bardi went 3-for-5 scoring twice, while Harry Leipold drove in two, scored twice and had three hits in five at bats.
Joe Sorge went five innings but allowed nine hits and two walks. Nonetheless, he limited the damage to four runs (three earned) and gave his team a chance to win.
Maritime will host Rutgers-Camden on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
