by George Caratzas
Easter weekend means time with family, but it also means that we have some college baseball to discuss. Let’s take a look at how some local teams did on Saturday.
Division I:
Stony Brook 7, Hofstra 5
The Seawolves won their second straight game over their cross-island rival, grabbing Saturday’s game with early offense and late pitching.
Stony Brook took the lead early, going up 4-0 in the second, before the Pride stormed back with five in the bottom of the third. Tyler Castrataro opened the scoring for Hofstra’s offense with a solo homer, before Nick Biddle singled home a run. Luke Masiuk launched a three-run home run to put the Pride up 5-4.
That lead hardly lasted, as Nico Azpilcueta smashed his 13th longball of the season — a three-run shot — to flip the game back in the Seawolves’ favor.
From there, Jacob Pedersen took over for Ty Panariello, going 5 ⅔ scoreless out of the bullpen for the win. Pedersen allowed just two hits and no walks, while striking out four.
Azpilcueta went 3-for-5 for Stony Brook, hitting two doubles, a home run and driving in three. Nick Zampieron went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored, a sacrifice bunt and an RBI.
Game three is set for noon on Sunday.
Creighton 4, St. John’s 3
At the home of the College World Series in Omaha, the Blue Jays picked up a three-game sweep over St. John’s, taking the series finale 4-3 on Saturday.
Behind 2-0, the Jays plated three in the bottom of the fifth. Connor Capece started the rally with an RBI triple, before Will Maclean singled him home to tie the game. Then, Matt Scherrman hit a double to put Creighton up 3-2.
The Blue Jays would add a run in the next inning, before St. John’s scored once in the seventh to make it a one-run game. That would be as close as they would get, as Matthew Aukerman and Garrett Langrall teamed up to fire three scoreless frames to finish it off.
Capece went 2-for-2 with a triple, a run scored and two RBIs. Nolan Sailors and Nate Mchugh each chipped in a pair of hits for Creighton.
Wilson Magers went four innings as the starter, allowing one run on three hits and walking five. He struck out two Johnnies.
LIU 8, Norfolk State 5
The Sharks snagged a win over Norfolk State, finishing off a three-game sweep with an 8-5 victory.
With the game tied 2-2, LIU put up a six-run sixth inning to take the lead for good. Jack Power drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single, before a bases-loaded walk and throwing error made it 6-2. Joseph Durso and Max Samson added run-scoring hits to make it 8-2.
The Spartans made things interesting, scoring three in the bottom of the ninth, but Christian Yoo recorded the final out to cap off the sweep.
Nicholas Finarelli went the first six for LIU, striking out 13 while allowing three runs. Power went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Ryan Rivera had two hits in three trips to bat while driving in a run and scoring another. Samson had three hits in five at bats and drove in a run.
Fordham 7, St. Bonaventura 5
The Rams also polished off a three-game sweep, taking down St. Bonaventure. Despite falling behind 4-1 in the fifth, Fordham rallied to put up two spots in each of the next three innings.
Down 4-2, Andrew Kanellis singled in one run to make it a one-run game. The next inning, Tommy McAndrews flipped the scoreboard, slugging a two-run homer to put Fordham up 5-4. In the seventh, Matt Dieguez gave the Rams some insurance, drilling a two-run single to make it 7-4.
St. Bonaventure scored once in the ninth inning, but it was not enough as Fordham came away with the victory and the sweep.
Taylor Kirk went 2-for-5 out of the leadoff spot for Fordham, while Kanellis also had two hits and a walk. Dieguez drove in two as part of a 1-for-3 day that included a free pass. McAndrew belted the only Rams home run, going 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs.
Robbie Stewart turned in 3 ⅔ innings of stellar relief, allowing just two hits, three walks and no runs.
Division II:
D’Youville 7, Queens 1
The Saints rallied late to beat Queens and clinch a split of their four-game weekend series.
With the game tied 1-1 in the eighth, D’Youville took the lead on an RBI single from Alec Boucher. A bases-loaded walk made it 3-1, before a sacrifice fly added another run. Dillon Crook then doubled home two more runs to, and scored on a throwing error to make it 7-1.
Crook went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in a pair with a double. No other Saints hitter had multiple hits, runs or RBIs.
Billy Morris went the distance, allowing one run over nine innings while striking out eight Queens hitters.
Game 1: Adelphi 11, New Haven 3
Game 2: New Haven 8, Adelphi 5
The Panthers were all over game one of Saturday’s doubleheader, scoring six in the third inning. With three runs already home, Bryan McCleary crushed a three-run home run to double Adelphi’s lead. From there, it added a run in the fourth and eight in the eighth to make it 11 runs. The Chargers scored all three of their runs in the bottom of the ninth in the loss.
In game two, New Haven was the one scoring early, plating five in the bottom of the third. Rob Taylor drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game at one apiece, before another bases-loaded walk forced in the go-ahead run. After a fielder’s choice made it 3-1, Joseph Frazzetta brought home two more with a double to make it 5-1.
Adelphi got back into the game in the top of the fourth, as Erick Duignan hit a three-run home run to cut the deficit to 5-4. However, Taylor added a solo shot to add a cushion for New Haven. Despite an RBI single from Joe Pellegrino of Adelphi, Frazzetta added one with an RBI single, before Casey Curruto came across on a wild pitch.
McCleary had five hits on the day, adding a home run and three RBIs.
For New Haven, Frazzetta went 3-for-4 while only playing the second game. He drove in three runs.
Game 1: Pace 8, Molloy 6
Game 2: Molloy 8, Pace 7
Pace grabbed the win in Saturday’s opener, rallying for two runs in the top of the eighth inning. With the game tied 6-6, Mason Baronian blasted a two-run shot to put Pace up for good at 8-6.
The second game featured an eventful sixth inning, with both sides scoring five times apiece. Molloy entered the inning up 3-2, but a home run by Benjamin Tullo quickly tied things at two apiece. Brayden Sweppenhiser gave Pace the lead with an RBI single before Luke Rivara seemingly blew the game open. His three-run homer made it 7-3 as Molloy came to bat in the bottom of the sixth.
Aidan Larkin came up with an RBI single before back-to-back doubles by Sean Welsh and Nicholas Dagnello tied the game at seven. Then, Jack Coogan doubled down the left-field line to put the Lions back ahead at 8-7, a score that would stick.
Welsh had three hits between the two games for Molloy, while Tullo had four for Pace. Sweppenhiser also had four hits out of Pace’s leadoff spot. Baronian had three hits and a home run in game one.
