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Friday College Recap Powered by Orlin & Cohen

by Anthony DiCocco

It was another action-packed Friday in the world of college baseball. Here’s how the local teams fared to start off their respective weekends.

Division I:

Stony Brook 2, Monmouth 10

Sloppy play in the field cost the Seawolves on Friday, as they committed six errors. With Stony Brook already down 3-0 due to a pair of unearned runs and another that scored on a wild pitch, the Hawks took advantage of more mistakes to post four more runs in the fourth inning.

Nick Lovarco took Micah Worley deep to begin the frame before two more errors and a hit-by-pitch combined to load the bases. Ty Panariello entered in relief with hopes of putting out the fire, but Chris Walsh laced a bases-clearing double into the left-center field gap to make it 7-0.

After Lovarco went yard again in the fifth inning, Mike Villani and Jack Scheri each drove in a run in the sixth to get the Seawolves on the board. However, RJ Mustaro and Jimmy Bruno added solo shots later on to firmly put the game out of reach.

In 3 ⅓ innings, just two of the seven runs Worley allowed were earned. He also recorded six strikeouts while allowing four hits, three walks and two hit-by-pitches.

For Monmouth, Ryan Mealy pitched to two runs and seven punch outs on six hits and two walks across 5 ⅔ frames. Kevin Opanel allowed a hit, a walk and a hit batsman with two strikeouts en route to securing a 10-out save.

Lovarco led the Hawks with three hits, two of which were homers. On the other side, Villani and Chris Carson each notched a pair of knocks.

Stony Brook will try to even the series on Saturday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.

Hofstra 4, Seton Hall 5

After mounting a late-inning comeback, the Pride were unable to hold onto their lead. In the bottom of the second inning, Gabe Cavazzoni and Ryan Frontera both picked up runs batted in (RBI) with doubles to make it 2-0 Pirates.

With the two sides trading blows in the middle stanzas, Seton Hall took a 3-1 lead into the seventh, but Hofstra stormed back to take the lead. With Derek Benzinger on the bump, the Pride pieced together a two-out rally, as JJ DeVito cut the deficit down to a run before Tyler Cox flipped the score with a two-run double.

However, the Pirates tied the game in the bottom of the frame, as Cavazzoni knotted the score at 4-4 with a groundout after a walk, single and sacrifice bunt combined to put runners in scoring position. After getting a runner on via an error in the eighth, Nick Tomasetto and Frankie Scrivanic strung consecutive singles together to take the lead for good at 5-4.

John Higgins struck out two batters while working a perfect ninth inning to earn the save.

Tyler Castrataro led the Pride with three hits, while Cox totaled three RBIs. Along with Cavazzoni recording two RBIs, Frontera and Scrivanic collected two hits apiece for the Pirates.

Each side’s starter produced a solid day. Carlos Martinez went a season-high five innings for the Pride while pitching to five strikeouts and three runs (two earned) on five hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch.

Steven Svenson hurled five innings of one-run baseball. He allowed five hits, two walks and two hit batsmen while striking out three Pride hitters.

Game two is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday.

St. John’s 8, UT Arlington 1

With the Johnnies and Mavericks intertwined in a pitchers’ duel through the game’s first six innings, St. John’s pulled away in the later innings.

Despite only notching three strikeouts, Caylon Dygert surrendered two runs on eight hits and two walks over six strong innings, with his only two blemishes coming via an Adam Agresti RBI single and Jack Tate sacrifice fly in the first inning.

However, Liam O’Leary was even better for the Red Storm. Over eight dominant frames, the right-hander allowed just one run on six hits and three walks. Like Dygert, most of O’Leary’s outs came by utilizing the gloves behind him, as he finished the day with two punch outs.

In the top of the seventh inning, Landon Murphy relieved Dygert and St. John’s took off. After juicing the bases, Ayden Frey dumped an RBI single into right field. Merek Sears then took over for Murphy and the Johnnies brought another run home, as Cristian Bernardini tallied a sacrifice fly.

St. John’s added three more runs in the eighth inning and one more in the ninth to put the icing on the cake. 

Agresti, Frey, Shaun McMillan, Jon Legrande and Jayder Raifstanger all recorded multi-hit games, with Agresti also tallying a pair of RBIs to match Tate’s output. Harold Laracuente collected the Mavericks’ lone RBI.

The Red Storm will look to secure the series win on Saturday. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.

LIU 18, CCSU 8

Following a quiet first inning, the Sharks jumped out to a 5-0 advantage after a two-run second and three-run third. LIU led off each frame with a blast, as Joseph Durso and Nick Matson crushed respective solo homers. To follow Matson’s bomb in the third, Noah Sorensen belted a two-run homer to left field.

With the Sharks ahead 6-2 in the seventh inning, LIU exploded for seven runs, which was capped off by a two-RBI double off Sorensen’s bat. The surge loomed large in the moment since the Blue Devils responded with six runs of their own in the bottom half, but Matson clubbed a solo shot in the ninth before Cord Dobrinski blasted a three-run homer to cap off a five-run stanza.

CCSU committed three errors in the contest, leaving 10 of the Sharks’ runs unearned. Though LIU’s bullpen struggled, Nicholas Finarelli delivered six innings while allowing two runs on three hits, a walk and two hit-by-pitches. He also punched out four batters.

Along with their homers, Dobrinski, Matson and Durso all posted three-hit games. Mike Polubinski also accumulated three knocks while Sorensen had two with a team-high four RBIs.

Matt Graziose crushed a homer for the Blue Devils while Gianno Merlonghi totaled three hits. Louis Jordan drove in three runs.

The Sharks will aim to clamp down on a series victory at 1 p.m. on Saturday. 

Richmond 4, Fordham 8

On Friday, the Rams and Spiders participated in a classic slugfest. In the third inning, Tommy McAndrews took Chase Topolski deep to center field for a two-run tank. 

Taylor Kirk drove in another pair in the fourth with a single, but Dylan Winebrenner responded with a two-run longball of his own in the fifth to bring Richmond’s deficit back to two runs.

Nonetheless, Fordham got a run back in the bottom half of the frame, as Madden Ocko shot an RBI single into right-center field off Angel Santiago-Cruz. 

In the sixth inning, Tommy Markey doubled off of Glenn Smith to plate a pair and make it 7-2 before Anthony Grabau blasted a homer in the seventh.

Evan Wilson belted a two-run shot in the ninth to make the score look a bit more respectable, but it was far too little, too late.

McAndrews, Markey and Kirk all totaled two RBIs while Ocko was the only Ram with multiple hits. On top of Wilson and Winebrenner driving in a pair each for Richmond, they tallied three and two hits, respectively. 

Beau Elson went six strong for Fordham, giving up two runs on seven hits and a hit-by-pitch while striking out four Spiders. Declan Cawley picked up a nine-out save, as he racked up five strikeouts and allowed two runs on five hits and a walk across his three innings of work.

The Rams’ series will continue on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Division II:

Game 1: D’Youville 6, Molloy 9

Game 2: D’Youville 3, Molloy 2 F/7

To start game one, the Lions manufactured runs in the earlier innings to take a 4-0 lead, but the Saints deadlocked the game in the top of the sixth. After Blaise Kolbert singled home a run, Cooper Cefaratti deposited a James Sill pitch into the left field seats.

Despite blowing the lead, Molloy displayed a short memory and got it back instantaneously. With two men on, Mike Sweeney found a hole on the left side of the diamond and plated them both. Billy Morris was pulled for Evan Froelich immediately after.

After Froelich loaded the bases, Charlie Imhof grounded into a fielder’s choice that allowed two more runners to cross the plate due to a throwing error by Michael Huff.

Kolbert drove in two more runs to pull D’Youville within two runs in the seventh, but a sacrifice fly from Joe Burriesci in the bottom half of the frame was followed by spotless innings from Artie Green and Jayden Patel in the eighth and ninth put the game away.

Kolbert co-led the Saints in hits (two) and RBIs (three) with Cefaratti and Morris, respectively. For the Lions, Sweeney registered three hits and three RBIs while Sean Welsh added two hits. Burriesci drove in a pair of runs as well.

Sill allowed five runs in six innings while Patel recorded two strikeouts in his perfect ninth for the save. Morris surrendered six runs for D’Youville over five frames.

The second half of the doubleheader was a tightly-contested affair from start to finish. This time, D’Youville jumped to a 2-0 advantage in the third, as Jake Hollins and Kolbert both notched run-scoring singles off Sean Mileti.

John Franco halved the deficit with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third, but Huff ultimately singled home Cerafatti in the sixth, which acted as the eventual game-winning run.

Molloy got the tying runs on base in the bottom of the seventh, but after Imhof singled one in, Mihir Manerikar got two big outs to strand the tying run at third base to end the game.

Aside from Franco’s RBI, Imhof notched two hits with an RBI of his own to boot. Hollins, Kolbert and Huff recorded an RBI apiece, with Kolbert totaling two hits as well.

While striking out six batters in three innings, Ty Graczyk allowed a run on two hits and four walks. To earn the save, Manerikar punched out two Lions and registered 12 outs while surrendering one run on four hits and three walks.

Mileti coughed up two runs on four hits, two walks and three strikeouts over three frames. Thomas Charlwood also went four innings in a piggyback role, as he was dealt the loss after pitching to two strikeouts and one run on two hits and a hit-by-pitch.

With the Saints behind them, the Lions will square off against Mercy in a doubleheader beginning at noon on Saturday.

Game 1: Staten Island 6, Queens 2

Game 2: Staten Island 7, Queens 7 (Suspended Top 9)

The Dolphins drew first blood in game one and never looked back. With two runners on in the second inning, Ryan Ortega picked up an RBI by singling to Nick Piazza. Two plays later, Jamel Vera struck a ball toward Piazza again, who committed his second error of the inning to score two more runs with an errand throw.

Michael Flashner capped off the four-run outburst by singling off of Michael Vilardi.

The Knights got runs back in the third and fifth innings via a Tommy Pasqua groundout and Dylan VIkara single, but it was not enough. 

In the seventh, Staten Island scored an insurance run despite grounding into a double play. During the following frame, Pasqua, who replaced Piazza after his defensive miscues earlier in the game, committed a fielding error of his own to bring one more run across the plate.

At the dish, Vincent Mallon led the Knights with three hits while Pasqua and Vikara picked up RBIs.

Flashner, Vera and Ortega all notched multiple hits for the Dolphins, with Flashner owning their only RBI for the game. 

Vilardi went 5 ⅓ innings while striking out five, walking one and surrendering five hits. However, he allowed four runs due to some blunders behind him, as only one was earned.

In 3 ⅔ frames, Johnny Dezago punched out five Dolphins and allowed just one hit, but he walked four batters while giving up two runs (one earned).

For Staten Island, Michael Furst twirled six innings to the tune of six strikeouts and two runs on eight hits and four walks. Aiden Kielty allowed a hit while both walking and striking out two Knights across three scoreless innings from the bullpen.

Game two saw Queens relinquish a 4-1 lead after allowing five runs in the seventh inning. However, the Knights tied the score at 6-6 in the bottom of the inning before each team traded runs in the eighth.

The conclusion to game two will have to wait until April 17, as the game was stopped at the start of the ninth inning due to darkness at the field. 

For now, Queens will turn its attention to a doubleheader against St. Thomas Aquinas College starting at 4 p.m. on Sunday. As for the Dolphins, they will begin a doubleheader with D’Youville at noon on Saturday.