THROGGS NECK, N.Y. (April 26, 2014) – The Maritime baseball team lost a pair of games to Skyline Conference opponent Old Westbury, 6-3 and 11-1, on Saturday afternoon at Reinhart Field. The losses drop the Privateers to 13-18 (9-7 Skyline) to end the regular season, while the Panthers improve to 19-19 (13-4 Skyline).
 
        Maritime earned the #5 seed in the Skyline Conference Tournament, with opening round action taking place this Wednesday, April 30. With the victories, Old Westbury won the Skyline Regular Season Championship and will host the double-elimination tournament starting next Friday after opening round play concludes.
 
        In between the two gamest this afternoon, the Maritime baseball program held a special Senior Day Ceremony for its six graduating seniors – Tom Bauer (Wantagh, N.Y./MacArthur), Nick Galli (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea), Trevor Cannella (Sea Cliff, N.Y./North Shore), Kurt Niemeyer (Nanuet, N.Y./Nanuet Senior), Nick Sarna (Massapequa, N.Y./St. Anthony's) and Jerry Frasier (Jackson, N.J./M.A.T.E.S.).
 
        In the opener, the Privateers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single by junior Joe Longo (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) that scored Bauer.
 
        In the top of the fourth, Old Westbury grabbed a 2-1 lead with a pair of runs. The Panthers' first run came across when senior Kevin Licul scored from third on a bases-loaded 4-6-3 double play. The very next batter, junior Brandon Stein, singled up the middle to plate senior John Angelino and put OW ahead.
 
        Maritime tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, as sophomore pinch hitter Chris Kroh (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) got it started with a one-out single to left field. He made it to second base when a pickoff attempt by the catcher was thrown away down the first base line. Classmate Lenny Baldassare (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park) replaced Kroh at second as a pinch runner and he made it to third when junior Pat Kirk (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) singled to right. Kirk then stole second with Bauer at the plate before Bauer laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to score Baldassare and tie the score at 2-2.
 
        Galli led off the bottom of the eighth with a homer just over the right field wall to put the Privateers back ahead, 4-3. However, in the top of the ninth, Old Westbury scored four runs on just two hits and were helped by two Maritime errors, as the Panthers took a 6-3 lead. The Privateers went down in order in the bottom of the ninth to close out the ballgame.
 
        Cannella got the start on the mound for the Privateers and lasted 8.1 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits with two strikeouts. He suffered the loss and falls to 3-3 on the season. In relief, freshman Ryan Heizman (Commack, N.Y./Commack) and junior James Very (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) both pitched a third of an inning to finish out the top of the ninth. Heizman allowed two unearned runs on one hit before Very struck out the only batter he faced.
 
        Galli finished the first game going 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored, while Bauer was 1-for-3 with an RBI and run and Longo was 1-for-4 with an RBI.
 
        For the Panthers, only two players recorded RBI hits, Stein and junior Nick Yip. It was Yip's RBI single up the middle that plated the go-ahead run in the ninth. On the mound, senior starter Arismendy Nunez (5-2) earned the victory after hurling eight innings and allowing three runs on seven hits and striking out 14 batters. Alex DiSanto pitched a perfect ninth to pick up his third save of the season.
 
        In the second game, Old Westbury quickly jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a solo home run by the second batter of the game, Yip. The Panthers tacked on another run in the top of the third on another solo jack by Yip and the next inning added one more run on a Privateer throwing error to take a 3-0 lead.
 
        In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Privateers thought they came within one on a two-run homer by Longo, however the umpires ruled that the ball went off of the outfielders glove and wound up going through the fence, not over it. The play was called a ground-rule double that scored just Galli, who was on second base, and the Panthers lead stood at 3-1.
 
        OW added another run in the fifth and then four more in the sixth and three in the seventh to blow the lead open to 11-1, while the Privateers only got a hit in the fifth and then went in order in both the sixth and seventh to end the game.
 
        Maritime got only four hits in the contest, off the bats of Galli, Longo, junior Albert Doerbecker (Point Lookout, N.Y./Long Beach) and sophomore Bruce Tyler (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place). Longo had the lone RBI, while Galli had a stolen base and the only run.
 
        Sarna (3-2) suffered the loss after pitching three innings and allowing only two runs on four hits with four strikeouts. Niemeyer came in in the fourth and threw two innings of relief, allowing two runs on four hits with one K. Junior Paul Pfundstein (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park) () and freshman Peter McGurty (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Tech) () both hurled an inning apiece.
 
        For Old Westbury, junior Tim Ingram (6-2) pitched all seven innings to earn the complete game victory. He allowed one run on four hits and struck out 11 batters.
 
        As the #5 seed, the Privateers will face #4 St. Joseph's on the road this Wednesday in the first round of the Skyline Conference Tournament. A start time for that contest will be announced early this week. Stay logged on to www.MaritimeAthletics.com for the latest information regarding the schedule.