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In a rather surprising turn of events, Molloy upset Dowling with a 6-0 shutout, eliminating the Golden Lions from the ECC playoffs in the first round. Dowling, who struggled offensively all season but had terrific pitching, was held to seven hits and their ace, Tyler Badamo, yielded six runs in five innings to drop to 7-4 on the season. Max Schonfeld tossed the complete game shutout, walked none and struck out four to improve his record to 5-4 and advance Molloy. In the first, John Galanoudis hit a two-run home run to Schonfeld all the runs he would need. They tacked on one in the third, on a wild pitch, and three in the fifth on a bases-clearing double by Erik Pyle. Andrew Abreu was the lone hitter with two hits for Dowling, as they quietly exit the playoffs and finish 22-20-1.

Two years ago the Adelphi Panthers were on the brink of the Divison-II College World Series, before dropping a pair to Southern Connecticut in the Regionals to have their dreams thwarted. Since then, they have played sub .500 ball. Most recently, they had their 2013 season ended in the first-round of the playoffs by No. 1 ranked New Haven (30-13) by the score of 5-0. The Panthers were held to three hits by the New Haven staff. Pat Simone (6-1) tossed the first six innings, allowing only two hits and three walks (his eighth of the season) while fanning three. John Melville and Peter Jay closed out the Panthers. Their offense was led by Andrew Johnson who finished 1-for-3 with three RBI on the day. He drove in runs on a sacrifice fly and a two-run single. For the Panthers, Steven Bove tossed...

Although it hasn’t been the walk in the park that 2012 was, the Dowling Golden Lions enter the ECC playoffs with a chance to bring home the conference championship for a consecutive season. They were awarded the No. 2 seed in the tournament with a 15-9 conference record, and will take on No. 3 ranked Molloy who finished 14-10. Dowling struggled offensively this year, compiling a .238 cumulative average and 3.3 runs per game which was less than their opponents averaged. They will be relying on Andrew Abreu to return to 2012 form (61 hits, .326 AVG) and JC Brandmeier (.339 AVG, 19 RBI, .934 OPS in 2013) to drive in runs. The pitching was certainly the lynchpin. They had a team ERA of 2.81, led by their trio of aces Adam Brown (1.47 ERA), Tyler Badamo (2.08 ERA) and Tom Bammann (2.37 ER...

The Adelphi Panthers enter the Northeast-10 playoffs as the No. 4 seed and will look for redemption against No. 1 ranked New Haven tomorrow at 2 p.m. New Haven enters the playoffs with an overall record of 29-13 and having just won two of three from the Panthers. Despite their underwhelming .267 team average, they have two standout hitters. Chris Demorais is batting .375 and Brendan O’Reilly at .301. Both could pose problems. They also like to run, having stolen 113 bases as team. Their true strength is on the mound, however. They have five starting pitchers that amassed three or more wins, led by Pat Simone who had a 5-1 record with a 1.64 ERA, and a ridiculous 45/5 K:BB ratio. The Panthers, who finished the regular season at 23-24-1 have been inconsistent all year but have the prow...

Once upon a time Farmingdale State College was the type of program that was in a transitional phase. They had recently switched to a four-year school and were no longer regarded as an agricultural school. On the baseball diamond they were anything but dominant. In 2005 they posted a 7-22 record, including 5-17 inside the Skyline Conference. Fast forward to 2013 and the Rams, led by Keith Osik, have captured their sixth consecutive Skyline Conference. They have not lost a game in the playoffs since 2009. They defeated Old Westbury 2-1 in a non-traditional pitchers duel. The starter for the Rams, Cameron Kitt lasted only two innings, despite holding the Panthers to one unearned run. Kevin Martinez took over and fired three hitless innings, which allowed the Rams to take 2-1 lead on a fielder...

#1 seeded Farmingdale State has advanced to the Skyline Conference Championship today, as they took down #2 Old Westbury 5-1. Senior Ron Remi had himself a good day at the dish, going 3-4 with three RBI and a stolen base. Pitchers Michael Dolce, Cameron Kitt and Alex Weingarten held the Panthers to one (unearned) run, allowing just five hits and striking out seven. Farmingdale State will look to take home their sixth straight Skyline Conference Championship, and will be in good position to do so. Since they have not lost in the tournament, the Rams will have to lose two games to whoever their opponent is, whereas Farmingdale will only have to win one game to become champs. If Farmingdale advances, they will earn a spot in the NCAA Division III Regional tournament, where they will get a cha...

With a school-record in his sights, closer Alex DiSanto entered in the ninth inning with the Old Westbury Panthers clinging to a 1-0 lead. He did what he has done all season, and that is finish off close games for his team, who defeated No. 3 ranked Purchase to advance to the semi-finals against Farmingdale. DiSanto recorded his program-record 13th save of the season, which allowed starter Arismendy Nunez to record the victory. The lone run was scored by Paul Valerio, who came across on a single by John Angelino. Purchase threatened in the sixth, loading the bases against Nunez, but he toughened up and escaped the jam unscathed. The Panthers improved their overall record to 24-13-1, and will have another important matchup at 10 a.m. against their bitter Nassau County rivals.

Missing the playoffs is not something Adelphi was accustomed to. Last year’s disappointing season was somewhat new for the proud program. They made sure it would not occur for a consecutive season, as the Panthers defeated New Haven 2-0 in a tidy two hour game to clinch a postseason berth. The starting pitcher, John Mulford, tossed 4.1 shutout innings but did not factor in the decision because he failed to complete five. He was relieved by senior Jeff Andersen who tossed 3.1 perfect innings and was credited with the victory. He was the beneficiary of shoddy New Haven defense which committed three errors and allowed the deciding run to score on an error by the catcher on an attempted pickoff play. Adelphi tacked on an insurance run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Rich Mejia.  Mr. R...

After five consecutive Skyline Conference championships, it would actually be more of a surprise if somebody defeated the Farmingdale Rams in a playoff game. They took the first step in capturing their sixth straight as they shutout Maritime 5-0 behind Anthony Eiler’s six shutout innings. The senior left hander improves to 4-2 on the season. David Zilnicki got Farmingdale on the board in the bottom of the third with an RBI triple. He is now batting .470 (!) on the season. Not a bad senior season for the Riverhead native. The Rams tacked on one in the fourth on a successful suicide squeeze by Ron Remi. Coach Osik is no stranger to that play. Anthony Alvino drove in two with a single in the seventh. The bullpen tossed the final three innings for the Rams, as they made it look pretty ea...

It wasn’t quite New York Giants defeating New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, but Maritime upset St. Joe’s in the first-round of the Skyline Conference playoffs with a 4-0 shutout. It comes as a surprise considering the track record of the teams leading up to this point. The loss means that the Golden Eagles season ends at a disappointing 16-22 record. Maritime starter Chris Meyers tossed the complete game shutout, scattering only three hits while fanning six. He was forced to work around four errors. The only hits for St. Joe’s were by Mike Aloisio, Dan Diblasi and Anthony Gallo. Offense was an issue for them all year long, with a team average of .239 and just 4.5 run per game. Rob Hyde took the loss for the Golden Eagles, dropping his record to 4-3 on the season. Af...

After a short hiatus, Baseball on the Island returns. Not a moment too soon either. The playoffs are right around the corner for some teams–and already upon us for some–and Long Island teams are gearing up. St. Josephs begins the first-round of the Skyline tournament today as they face Maritime in a win-or-go-home matchup. Here is where the rest of the teams stand as May begins: Adelphi: Despite their 21-22-1 record, the Panthers have played their best ball in the division. They have four games remaining, including a crucial three-game series against New Haven who ended their season last year. They currently hold the fourth and final playoff spot in the Southwest Division of the NE-10 with a two-game lead over Assumption. Dowling: The Golden Lions are 18-18-1 (12-8 in the ECC),...

Farmingdale State: The Rams took both games of a doubleheader Saturday against Purchase, clinching the #1 seed in the Skyline playoffs with a 15-1 conference record. In game one, the Rams won 4-2, who were led on offense from catcher Eric Weiner, who went 3-4 with two RBI and a run scored. Anthony Eilers dominated in game two, throwing a complete game shutout in seven innings, allowing only four hits and striking out eight. The Rams winning streak has extended to 14 and look to take this hot streak into the playoffs. Old Westbury: Like Farmingdale State, the Panthers swept their Saturday doubleheader, as they faced Mount Saint Vincent. In game one, it was a back and forth game, with six lead changes, but Old Westbury was able to hold on to a 9-7 victory. The offense was led by John Angelin...