By Anthony DiCocco
As the five Division I teams in the area continued their playoff pushes, the Division II and III postseasons were both in full swing on Friday. Let’s unpack a hectic day in college baseball.
Division I:
Stony Brook 3, Northeastern 12
Micah Worley did not have it on Friday and the Huskies capitalized by tallying seven runs off Stony Brook’s ace. Following a leadoff double in the bottom of the first inning, Harrison Feinberg singled home the game’s first run, and during the second, a bases-loaded walk made it 2-0.
With one runner on and two outs in the third, AJ Aschettino blasted a two-run homer, before a wild pitch scored another run later in the frame. Worley then attempted to get through the fourth, but Feinberg and Ryan Gerety hammered back-to-back, solo home runs to end his day.
Chanz Doughty responded with a two-run single in the fifth inning and Mike Cervoni picked up a run batted in (RBI) on a groundout in the sixth to pull the Seawolves within 7-3. However, Matt Brinker tallied two RBIs of his own with a single in the home half of the sixth and eventually scored on an error to wash it all away.
Brinker struck again in the eighth inning, as he notched a two-run double for good measure.
Worley ended the day with four strikeouts while allowing seven runs on nine hits and three walks across 3 ⅓ innings. Robbie O’Connor went five innings for Northeastern, fanning three batters while surrendering three runs on seven hits and a hit batsman.
Brinker went 3-for-5 with four RBIs while Feinberg drove in two runs on his three knocks. Tyler Harmony and Carmelo Musacchia also recorded multi-hit games.
Doughty stayed hot with two hits and two RBIs while Nick Zampieron led Stony Brook with three hits. Nick Dromboski and James Schaffer picked up two hits apiece. Cervoni plated a run despite going hitless.
The Seawolves will be looking to even the series at a game apiece at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Game 1: Monmouth 3, Hofstra 7
Game 2: Monmouth 5, Hofstra 2
Carlos Martinez was a workhorse during the Pride’s victory to start their doubleheader. The right-hander threw 123 pitches and pitched all nine innings to the tune of three runs, seven hits, two walks, two hit-by-pitches and 10 strikeouts.
After Hofstra got ahead 2-0 early, Monmouth tied the game in the top of the fourth inning, but the Pride stormed back for three runs in the bottom half. A two-out single set the stage for Tyler Castrataro to drive an RBI double to right-center field, before JJ DeVito singled him home.
DeVito swiped second base immediately after, leading to an RBI knock by Michael Brown to make it 5-2.
Jimmy Bruno notched a run-scoring single in the top of the sixth to cut Monmouth’s deficit to two runs, but Castrataro crushed a two-run homer off Ryan Mealy in the bottom of the frame.
Like the opener, Hofstra pulled ahead 2-0 in game two, but it was all Hawks from that point on. With runners at the corners and one out in the fourth inning, Aidan Bretschneider sent Brayden Gregg’s pitch into right-center field for a two-run double to deadlock the game at 2-2.
In the top of the fifth inning, Tanner Sanderoff needed one pitch to get the first out, but Chris Walsh took a 3-2 pitch during the ensuing at-bat and hammered it to left field to put the Hawks ahead for the first time all day.
With Monmouth still narrowly leading by a run in the eighth inning, Bretschneider came through again with a two-out, two-RBI double to make it 5-2.
Hofstra loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the frame, but Austin Beard got out of the jam, before working a clean ninth to secure the save.
Biddle led the Pride with five hits and three runs scored across both games, while Castrataro drove in four runs and scored twice with four hits. Nick Gallello tallied three hits and two RBIs while Danny Corona’s lone knock was an RBI two-bagger.
Gregg allowed two runs on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts over 3 ⅓ innings during his start in game two.
Mealy allowed seven runs on 12 hits through five innings for the Hawks in the opener. However, Alec Couture went seven innings in the second half of the twinbill, pitching to the tune of seven strikeouts and two runs on eight hits and a hit batsman.
During his game-two start, Bretschneider’s two hits were both two-run doubles, while Walsh tallied two knocks — including a homer — and two RBIs across both contests. Nick Lovarco totaled three hits and an RBI. Bruno’s only hit drove in a run.
On Sunday, the Pride and Hawks will square off in the series’ rubber match at noon.
Game 1: Saint Louis 4, Fordham 0
Game 2: Saint Louis 7, Fordham 2
The series opener was a pitchers’ duel for eight innings, as the game was scoreless heading into the ninth. However, the Billikens plated four runs in that frame, which proved to be the difference.
With Declan Cawley on the mound for his fifth inning in relief, Saint Louis loaded the bases for Joey Canzoni, who Cawley plunked to force in the first run of the game. Two batters later, J.T. Crabbe cleared the bases by pulling an 0-2 pitch down the right-field line for a two-out, three-run double.
Cawley and Beau Elson combined to punch out nine batters on seven hits, five walks and a hit batsman over nine innings.
However, it was no match for Ben Cherico, who hurled a complete-game shutout to lead the Billikens to a victory. Across his nine innings, he allowed five hits and two walks with five strikeouts, barely missing a Maddux by finishing the game with 100 pitches.
Much like game one, the second half of the doubleheader featured a late surge by Saint Louis, leading to another Fordham loss. With the game knotted up at 2-2 in the seventh inning, Crabbe took Chase Hanawalt deep with two outs to move the Billikens ahead 3-2.
Robbie Stewart took over on the mound in the eighth, but Saint Louis tagged him for four runs. With two runners on, Hank Gomric doubled home a run, before Chase Beattie drove in another with a single. Before Stewart could escape the frame, Matt Deutsch banged a two-run single into left-center field to break the game open.
Loren Georger allowed two runs on seven hits, two walks and a hit batsman while racking up five strikeouts across 4 ⅓ innings for Saint Louis. Liam McKinney earned the win in relief, allowing just one hit over 4 ⅔ shutout frames.
Despite the loss, Hanawalt was solid, striking out nine Billikens while surrendering three runs on six hits and a free pass over seven innings.
Saint Louis’ Drew Kleinheider recorded four hits and an RBI across both games while Riley Iffrig went 6-for-9 with two runs scored. Gomric tallied two hits, two RBIs and two walks while Crabbe drove in four runs with three hits.
After going hitless in the opener, Tommy McAndrews rebounded with three hits, including a solo shot, in game two. Taylor Kirk totaled two hits and an RBI in game two, while Anthony Grabau collected three of the Rams’ five knocks in the opener.
The Rams will look to salvage the series with a win on Sunday. First pitch is set for 11 a.m.
Game 1: Stonehill 5, LIU 6
Game 2: Stonehill 2, LIU 5
LIU nearly lost game one in the ninth inning, before responding to walk off the Seahawks. After Nicholas Finarelli delivered eight innings of two-run baseball to keep the Sharks ahead 4-2 heading into the ninth inning, Torin Kassebaum struggled with the lead.
Stonehill loaded the bases, leading to a sacrifice fly by Michael Rickert to pull the team within a run. Alex Jankowski took over for Kassebaum with hopes of getting one more out for the save, but Nathan Kearney singled the tying run home, before the go-ahead run crossed the plate on a passed ball.
However, the Sharks displayed resilience in the ninth to win it. After LIU loaded the bases with one out, Alex Cook got Cord Dobrinski to flyout for the second out. Nonetheless, Cook hit Matthew McGurk with a pitch to force in the tying run and Nate Figueroa notched a walk-off single during the following at-bat.
Opposing Finarelli, who also recorded seven strikeouts, Jimmy Gilleran allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits and five walks for Stonehill. He racked up eight punch outs across 6 ⅓ innings.
The Sharks got all of their scoring done in the first half of game two to earn a doubleheader sweep. McGurk blasted a two-run homer in the second inning and though Rickert notched another sacrifice fly in the third to cut the lead in half, LIU responded with a pair of runs in the fourth.
Noah Sorensen picked up an RBI single, before Ryan Rivera notched a sacrifice fly. Mike Polubinski also tallied a sac fly in the fifth to add insurance.
John Bureau cut the Sharks’ lead to 5-2 in the sixth with a single, but the Seahawks were unable to get anything else done. Justin DeCastro went 8 ⅓ innings for LIU, surrendering two runs on seven hits and a hit batsman with four strikeouts.
Stonehill got the tying run to the plate in the form of Sam Parks against James Lordi in the ninth, but Lordi got him looking to shut the door.
Dan Lang did not last long on the hill for the Seahawks, going just 3 ⅓ innings while allowing four runs on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts.
McGurk drove in three runs and collected two hits across both games. Rivera totaled three hits and two RBIs while Sorensen drove in a run with two knocks. Elijah Fairchild tallied two RBIs and three hits as well. Polubinski and Figueroa both tallied two hits and drove in a run.
Rickert drove in a pair of runs and Bureau collected four hits and an RBI. Kearney accumulated three hits and an RBI, while Armanis Romero and Kacin Robinson each tallied an RBI.
The Sharks will go for the series sweep on Senior Day this Sunday at 1 p.m.
St. John’s 8, Villanova 1
Liam O’Leary twirled a gem to lead the Johnnies to victory in this one. The right-hander went the distance and allowed just one run on four hits, two walks and a hit batsman in doing so, while also striking out eight Wildcats.
After Rob Mansour drove in a run with a groundout in the second inning, Mansour and the Red Storm posted three runs in the fourth. With two on and two outs, Mansour drove in both runners with a double, before Cristian Bernardini singled him home.
St. John’s then posted a picket fence spanning from the fifth to the eighth inning. Shaun McMillan blasted a solo shot in the fifth, before Jon LeGrande doubled a run home in the sixth. Dylan Fitzsimmons and Jayder Raifstanger picked up RBI singles in the seventh and eighth, respectively.
JP Podgorski struggled for Villanova, going just 3 ⅔ innings while allowing four runs on five hits and a pair of walks.
Fitzsimmons totaled three hits while Raifstanger delivered two.
Larry Hotaling drove in Villanova’s only run with a double and Austin Lemon tallied two hits.
On Saturday, the Red Storm will attempt to clinch a series victory at 2 p.m.
Division II:
Molloy 8, Mercy 2
In their semifinal matchup of the East Coast Conference playoffs, the Lions took down the Mavericks to advance to the finals.
Dylan Koch started the game with a bang, as he blasted a leadoff homer to immediately put Mercy ahead. Molloy delivered a perfect response in the home half of the inning, as Mike Sweeney cranked a leadoff bomb of his own to tie the game.
The score remained unchanged until the bottom of the third inning when Sean Welsh crushed a three-run tank to left field to put the Lions in front 4-1.
Kyle Engmann laced an RBI double into right-center field in the top of the fourth, but Andre Jenkins balked in the bottom of the frame to score Sweeney. Once the fifth rolled around, Molloy broke the game open, as Steve Mulqueen struck a run-scoring triple and came around to score on a Charlie Imhof sacrifice fly during the next at-bat.
Brian Sanchez picked up an RBI single in the sixth to put the icing on the cake.
Mike Knapp was masterful on the mound. The right-hander shoved for eight innings, coughing up two runs on nine hits while racking up 10 strikeouts.
Jenkins was hit hard across 5 ⅔ innings, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits and five walks with three strikeouts.
Sweeney scored four runs in addition to his long ball while Welsh went 2-for-3 with a three-run shot. On top of RBIs from Mulqueen, Imhof and Sanchez, Joe Burriesci tallied three hits.
Engmann went 3-for-4 with an RBI while Koch’s lone hit was a homer.
Molloy will take on Mercy again at 9:30 a.m. with a chance to earn a conference title. If the Lions lose, they will have another crack at it, as they have yet to lose in the double-elimination tournament.
Game 1: Pace 2, Adelphi 5
Game 2: Adelphi 3, SNHU 10
The Panthers survived in their first matchup of the day, but were ultimately eliminated from the Northeast-10 Conference postseason with a championship appearance on the line.
A run-scoring error broke the ice against Pace and an RBI groundout by Bryan McCleary made it 2-0 Adelphi in the third inning. Albert Ramos delivered an RBI single in the fifth, before Zach DeMilt notched a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
In the seventh, Matt Ryan blasted his first homer of the year to make it 5-0.
Benjamin Tullo delivered an RBI single in the eighth to get the Setters on the board, before Nick Carlucci homered to lead off the ninth to make it 5-2. However, Colin Richardson made quick work of the next three batters to send Pace packing.
Ari Gluck was solid in the win. Despite issuing six free passes with a hit-by-pitch, Gluck allowed an unearned run on four hits with two punch outs across 7 ⅔ innings.
Despite extending their stay, the Panthers were no match for the top-seeded Penmen. An infield, RBI single by Jake Pisano put SNHU ahead 1-0 immediately, before Casey Cumiskey grounded out to drive in another first-inning run.
The Penmen kept their foot on the gas heading into the second inning. With runners in scoring position, Jacob Albert scored them both with a two-run double, before an error brought in the third run of the frame.
Two errors and an RBI single by Kyle Lavigne in the fifth put three more runs on the board for SNHU.
A two-run single by Ryan and a run-scoring throwing error gave Adelphi some life in the top of the sixth, but Cumiskey collected an RBI single in the home half of the inning, before Dakota Britt doubled home the Penmen’s 10th run of the day in the eighth to make sure the Panthers’ season came to a close.
Tyler Bonsignore lasted just 1 ⅓ innings, allowing five runs on six hits and a walk with one punch out.
Parker Lendrum went 5 ⅔ for SNHU. He allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits, a walk and two hit batsmen with three strikeouts.
Ryan tallied four hits and three RBIs on the day while Johnny Catuosco also notched four knocks. Though all three went hitless against SNHU, Ramos went 3-for-4 with an RBI against Pace while DeMilt and McCleary both tallied a hit and an RBI.
Division III:
USMMA 16, Maritime 0
With a semifinal appearance on the line, the Mariners blew out the Privateers to eliminate them from the Skyline Conference postseason.
USMMA immediately took a 4-0 lead. Two errors scored runs in the first inning and Drew Davis grounded out to drive a run home in between. Before the inning ended, Ryan Melton sent an RBI triple into the right-center field gap.
Luke Kruer doubled a run home in the second, before Melton went deep in the third. During the fifth, a single by Axel Prechel drove in a run and another run came around to score on an error during the same play.
Immediately after, Davin Fulton doubled Prechel in.
In the sixth, Kruer continued the onslaught by crushing a three-run homer and Melton cracked a two-run blast later in the frame. An inning later, Davis sent a two-RBI single up the middle to cap off the scoring.
While the Mariners raked at the dish, Luke Sems put together a complete-game shutout, recording six strikeouts while allowing four hits and three walks across nine innings.
Melton went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and fell a double short of the cycle, though he notched two homers. Davis drove in three runs and added three hits while Kruer drove in four runs with two hits. In total, seven Mariners posted multi-hit games.
Randy Ventura had two hits for Maritime.
St. Joseph’s 4, Farmingdale 10
As the top-seeded team in the Skyline Conference tournament, the Rams asserted their dominance to punch their ticket to the championship game.
Farmingdale posted six runs in the third inning and never looked back. After loading the bases with no outs, Kaolis Delacruz kept the line moving with an RBI single, before a fielder’s choice and error combined to bring two more runs in during the next at-bat.
Carmine Scardina followed with an RBI single, before Richie Heyder scored on a wild pitch. Before the Golden Eagles finally put the inning to bed, one more run crossed the plate on a Christian Villacci groundout.
St. Joseph’s and Farmingdale evenly traded blows the rest of the way, but the six run inning was far too much for the Golden Eagles to overcome.
Scardina, Ryan Wasserman and Ryan Plocker all recorded multi-hit games, with Scardina plating two runs and Wasserman and Plocker driving in one apiece. Delacruz, Heyder and Villacci each drove in a run as well.
Joe Hackal, Andrew Amarando, Joe Thatcher and Dom Crema each drove in a run for the Golden Eagles. Hackal also notched two hits, as did Alex Johnston and Marco Gullo.
TJ Cox went the distance for Farmingdale, striking out two batters while surrendering four runs on eight hits, two walks and a hit batsman.
USMMA 6, St. Joseph’s 4
Though Thatcher got the Golden Eagles going with an RBI single in the first inning, USMMA quickly turned the tables in this win-or-go-home matchup. With Davis on first in the top of the second, Jason Brown tripled to tie the game at 1-1.
With the bases loaded in the third inning, Davis made his presence felt again by picking up a go-ahead, two-run single.
However, St. Joseph’s did not go down without a fight. With the bases loaded and two outs, Hackal wore a pitch to force in a run, before Gullo found a hole on the right side to put the Golden Eagles back in front, 4-3, with a two-RBI single.
Nonetheless, Braden Vazquez immediately tied the game with an RBI single in the sixth,
The score stayed knotted up at four runs apiece until the ninth inning. The heart of the Mariners’ order filled the bases for Charlea Cahalan, who played hero by sending a go-ahead, two-run single through the right side of CJ Rivera.
In the bottom of the frame, Caden Pierce worked around a single to secure the save to send USMMA to a title fight while the Golden Eagles’ season ended,
Tucker Bearden allowed four runs on three hits, two walks and hit batsmen with a strikeout over 4 ⅔ innings for USMMA. Pierce, Tommy Chiappetti and Travis Campbell combined to allow just three hits over 4 ⅓ scoreless frames out of the bullpen.
On the other side, John Moeller went 5 ⅓ innings, pitching to four runs, seven hits, four walks, two hit-by-pitches and three strikeouts.
Vazquez, Davis and Cahalan each picked up two hits. Davis and Cahalan both drove in two runs — including the game-winner from Cahalan — while Vazquez plated one. Brown also picked up an RBI.
Gullo drove in two runs while Hackal and Thatcher both picked up an RBI.
USMMA will now take on Farmingdale — the tournament’s host team — at 11 a.m. on Sunday with the championship on the line. Farmingdale needs just one win to get it done, while the Mariners will need to beat the Rams twice if they want to take home the conference crown, as Farmingdale is still a part of the postseason’s winners bracket.