By Anthony DiCocco
Friday marked the start of the 2026 college baseball season. Let’s see how these six local squads fared on the NCAA’s Opening Day.
Division I:
St. John’s 3, Ball State 4
The Red Storm broke through against Keegan Johnson in the top of the third inning. Following a leadoff walk by Dylan Fitzimmons, Jon LeGrande blasted a two-run homer to right field.
Ball State immediately cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the frame. Gavin Balius was hit by a pitch before stealing second base, allowing Kenskey Thomas to drive him in with a single.
St. John’s tacked on another run during the top of the fourth. However, its offense stalled from there, as John Chambers struck out five and allowed three hits over five shutout frames in relief for the Cardinals.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Cardinals stormed back with Tommy Conley on the mound for St. John’s. After a leadoff double from Brett Griffiths, consecutive fielder’s choices brought him home.
A throwing error by Adam Agresti on a stolen base attempt plated the tying run before Ryan Muizelaar knocked in the eventual game-winning score with a single off Jack Nestler.
Thomas, Muizelaar and John Colligan each picked up a run batted in (RBI) for Ball State.
Ayden Frey led St. John’s with two hits while LeGrande provided power with a two-run shot. Christian Bernardini added an RBI via a sacrifice fly.
Liam O’Leary got the start for the Johnnies, allowing just two hits and a run while striking out four batters, walking two and hitting a batter across five innings.
St. John’s will stay in DeLand, Fla. to take on Minnesota at 11 a.m. on Saturday and will finish the doubleheader with a rematch against Ball State at 2 p.m.
Fordham 9, New Mexico 10
After going down 1-0 early, the Rams pounced on Cristian Mogen to jump out to a commanding 6-1 lead. Fordham put up a five spot in the third inning, including a solo homer by Mason Dean followed by a three-run bomb from Tommy McAndrews.
Madden Ocko added another home run in the fourth.
During the bottom of the sixth, Beau Elson surrendered four straight hits after a walk to pull New Mexico within 6-4. With two outs, Caleb Herd ripped an RBI single into left to make it a one-run game.
With Robbie Stewart on the bump for the seventh, the Lobos tacked on three more runs to retake the lead, which was highlighted by a go-ahead, two-run shot off Aidan Kuni’s bat.
In the top of the eighth, Ocko and Tommy Markey rattled off consecutive doubles off Ty Cunningham to draw the Rams closer.
Fordham’s offense pieced together some ninth-inning magic to leapfrog New Mexico on the scoreboard. Anthony Grabau led off with a single before Joey Donnelly took Luke Wiseman deep for a two-run roundtripper.
In the bottom of the frame, Declan Cawley allowed a pair of singles. Koen Smith relieved Cawley, but walked a pair of batters to force in the tying run with two outs. Immediately after, Matt Dieguez committed a fielding error to give the Lobos a walk-off win.
Kuni drove in five runs while New Mexico’s Lenny Junior Ashby and Gene Trujillo each went 3-for-5.
Grabau went 3-for-5 with an RBI. McAndrews and Donnelly drove in three and two runs, respectively.
Elson went 5 ⅔ with five strikeouts while allowing five runs (four earned) and two walks for the Rams. On the other side, Mogen allowed three hits, six runs (two earned) and a walk while punching out four over four innings.
Fordham will begin a doubleheader with New Mexico at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Game 1: Stony Brook 8, Arkansas State 9
Game 2: Stony Brook 0, Arkansas State 4
In the opener, a Stony Brook comeback attempt fell on deaf ears. While already up 5-0, Luke Walton blasted a three-run home run off Matthew Canizares to cap off a five spot in the fourth.
After getting a run back in the top of the fifth, Chris Carson deposited a grand slam over the right field wall to give the Seawolves a five spot of their own in the sixth, making it a ballgame at 8-6.
Patrick Engskov laced an RBI single through the left side to give Arkansas State a three-run cushion heading into the ninth.
The insurance run ultimately proved necessary. Aidyn Coffey delivered an RBI single off Kole Turner in the top of the ninth before Scott Gell reached on a throwing error to bring in another. However, Turner bounced back for the save, as Carson flew out to strand the tying run at third.
Walton was the story of game two. He homered off Hunter Colagrande in both the first and third innings before notching an RBI double to start a two-run fifth that put the Red Wolves up 4-0.
On the other side, Jack Nelson shut down the Seawolves. The southpaw tossed six scoreless frames while allowing no hits and one walk. In relief, Houston Tomlinson, Ryan Ashford and Brett Foss all posted zeroes to combine for the shutout.
Walton went 4-for-8 with three homers and six RBIs across both games.
Nick Zampieron’s three hits led Stony Brook, while Carson’s grand slam made up for half of its offensive outburst.
In game one, Arkansas State’s Chase Richter allowed two runs on two hits and a walk while striking out seven over 4 ⅔ innings. Stony Brook’s Micah Worley struck out six over three innings while allowing three runs, three hits and three walks.
Colagrande went four innings with Walton’s homers being the only major blemishes on his line.
Stony Brook will conclude its series with Arkansas State on Sunday at noon.
Hofstra 5, Mississippi State 6
After a quiet stretch to begin the game, Nick Gallello slashed a two-RBI single to right to put Hofstra up 2-0 in the top of the fourth.
However, Mississippi State peppered Carlos Martinez in the bottom of the inning. Reed Stallman yanked a two-run double down the right-field line to tie the score before a wild pitch and throwing error by Nick Biddle combined to put the Bulldogs ahead 4-2.
Danny Corona doubled in a run off Duke Stone in the following inning to bring the Pride within a run.
Nonetheless, Hofstra shot itself in the foot during the bottom of the fifth. After getting two quick outs, Nick Reese hit a batter and walked a pair. In relief, Maddon McArthur both walked and balked in a run to hand the Bulldogs a three-run lead.
Gallello singled in another run in the top of the sixth, giving Hofstra some hope heading into the later innings.
With two runners in scoring position in the top of the ninth, Tyler Cox plated a run with a sacrifice fly. However, Ben Davis struck out Tyler Castrataro with the tying run at third base to earn a nine-out save.
Gallello and Gabriel Melara each went 3-for-4 for the Pride with three RBIs and two runs scored, respectively. Hofstra recorded 10 hits in the game.
Stallman produced two of Mississippi State’s three hits on the day with a double, three RBIs, and a walk.
Martinez punched out five Bulldogs across 3 ⅔ frames while allowing four runs (three earned), two hits, three walks and a hit batsman. In four innings, Ryan McPherson surrendered a pair of runs on six hits for Mississippi State.
The Pride will wrap up their series in Mississippi with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
LIU 11, San Diego State 12
With LIU ahead 3-0, San Diego State posted a crooked number in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Aztecs had six runners cross the plate, as Jabin Trosky and Dawson Santana each notched an RBI apiece while Adam Magpoc added two.
San Diego State had an answer every time the Sharks drew closer. Nick Matson’s RBI knock in the fifth was drowned out by a pair of Aztec runs, while Mason Breton’s sixth-inning solo homer was canceled out with an RBI hit-by-pitch from Santana.
Heading into the ninth inning down 12-7, LIU nearly pulled off an improbable comeback. With two runners on and two already home, Joe Durso took Aidan Russell deep to cut the Sharks’ deficit to a run, but Russell struck out Tyler Benick to strand the tying run at first base.
Matson and LIU’s Ryan Rivera each went 4-for-5. Matson scored three runs and plated one, while Rivera totaled five RBIs with a double and a homer.
Magpoc went 4-for-4 with four RBIs while Santana drove in three runs and added two hits.
Bryce McKnight allowed three runs in three innings to secure the win in relief. In defeat, Nicholas Finarelli gave up six runs on six hits and six walks in 3 ⅓ innings.
The middle game of the series is scheduled for an 8 p.m. start on Saturday.
Division II:
Molloy 1, Millersville 2
Despite scratching a run across on a fielder’s choice in the fifth, Molloy had no answer for Millersville’s Alex Kuehn and Joe Morrissey, who combined to throw a no-hitter.
Kuehn spun five no-hit frames while walking two batters, plunking two and striking out seven Lions. The lone run he allowed was unearned, as Brady Ebbert committed a throwing error to plate a run.
In relief, Morrissey was dominant, as he also put down seven Lions via the strikeout while walking just one over his four shutout innings to complete the no-no.
All the offense the Marauders needed came in the second inning. With two on and no outs, Ebbert bunted both runners into scoring position, allowing Conor McCartney to send a two-RBI single up the middle.
Though they were outshined by Millersville’s pitching tandem, James Sill and Sean Mileti pitched well for the Lions. Sill surrendered two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out four Marauders over four frames.
Millersville went hitless against Mileti across four scoreless innings out of the bullpen. He struck out six batters and walked three.
Molloy will conclude the Peninsula Pilot Invitational in Hampton, Va. on Saturday with a doubleheader against East Stroudsburg. First pitch is set for 10:30 a.m.
