YAPHANK, N.Y. – The Maritime baseball team played host to the Staten Island Dolphins on Sunday afternoon at Baseball Heaven in eastern Suffolk County on Long Island. After falling to the Dolphins by an 8-6 score in game one, the Privateers bounced back and salvaged the split with a 7-1 win in game two.
 
The starting pitching was brilliant for the Privateers on the afternoon as junior Tyler Stuart (Palm Coast, Fla./Matanzas) got the start in game one and did not allow a hit over 5 1/3 innings as he struck out four on 108 pitches before being lifted. Stuart did not factor into the pitching decision as a 5-0 lead evaporated into an 8-6 loss. Freshman Skylar Graff (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) retired the two batters he faced in the opener via strikeout, as he needed just 10 pitches.
 
Freshman Travis Bruinsma (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot) got the start in game two and notched his third win of the season as he struck out four Dolphins over seven innings, as he needed 106 pitches and allowed just one run on six hits.
 
Offensively, Maritime's middle infielders had solid afternoons as junior Chris Deddo (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) had three hits and two RBIs, and walked twice while scoring two runs. Sophomore Matt Costleigh (West Islip, N.Y./St. Anthony's) also had three hits and drove in four RBIs as he scored three runs including the first home run of his collegiate career to the opposite field.
 
Junior Connor Alwan (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) continued his fast start to the season as he added four more hits on the day and drove in a pair of runs while touching the plate twice on the day. Sophomore Joe Scerra (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) had two hits in the team's second game and drove in a pair of runs.
 
Freshman Phil Russo (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) collected three hits against his hometown team on the day, while picking up one RBI and scoring a run. Classmate Matt Lobello (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) also registered his first career hit against his hometown team and also scored a run. Juniors Stephen Semler (Kirkland, Wash./Lake Washington) and Aaron Schiavoni (Sag Harbor, N.Y./Pierson) each had one hit on the day with Schiavoni picking up an RBI and Semler scoring a run. Freshman Zach Parilla (Shoreham, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) reached three times and scored a run on the afternoon.
 
Game 1
The start of game one could not have been scripted any better as Stuart set the side down in the top of the first getting a double play from Deddo, Costleigh and senior Brian McLaughlin (Massapequa, N.Y./St. John the Baptist).
 
In the bottom of the inning, Costleigh led off with an opposite field home run before Deddo and Semler reached. Schiavoni brought in Deddo with an RBI groundout, before Russo singled to plate the third Privateer run. Maritime added a fourth run in the next inning as Parilla led off with a single and eventually scored on a Costleigh sacrifice fly.
 
Stuart walked the first batter in both the third and fourth innings, but got the next three batters in each inning to keep the Dolphins hitless through the first four frames.
 
Maritime added a fifth unanswered run in the bottom of the fourth as Costleigh was hit by a pitch and stole second before coming around on Deddo's RBI base hit to make the score 5-0.
 
After another easy inning for Stuart was not enough as the lefty's pitch count continued to rise quickly, Stuart got the first out in the sixth before going 3-0 on the next hitter and was pulled from the game. One pitch from freshman Matthew Paghidas (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) allowed the batter to walk, which was charged to Stuart's ledger. Stuart's inherited runner scored, as did three other Dolphins as Staten Island trimmed the Maritime lead to 5-4.
 
The Privateers added another run in the bottom of the sixth as Alwan singled and was moved up on a groundout. Deddo drove in another run to make the score 6-4. The top of the seventh saw 10 batters come to the plate for Staten Island as the Dolphins added four runs to take their first lead of the day at 8-6. Maritime was unable to do anything in the bottom of the inning and dropped the heartbreaker by two runs.
 
Game 2
Looking to bounce back, Bruinsma took to the hill and worked around a two-out walk to send the game to the bottom of the first. Maritime's bats were not ready just yet as the Dolphin starter struck out the side.
 
Bruinsma allowed a leadoff double in the top of the second and got out of the inning with the unorthodox 5-3-5 double play as Staten Island's baserunner got greedy and was nailed at third trying to advance on the initial groundout.
 
Schiavoni opened the inning with one of the hardest hit balls of the afternoon as he lined out to left field. Russo ignited the inning with a one-out single before Scerra connected on a seeing-eye single through the right side. Parilla walked to load the bases before Alwan drove in a pair with a single. Two batters later, Costleigh drove in two more runs and was thrown out trying to stretch his single but not before Maritime took a 4-0 lead.
 
Bruinsma ran into a speed bump in the top of the third but got out of the inning unscathed as Schiavoni picked off a runner as he threw behind the Dolphin at second base before getting the final out on a popup to Scerra against the fence in foul territory. The Maritime right-hander yielded one run on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning but limited the damage with a strikeout to close the frame.
 
In the bottom of the fifth Lobello opened the inning with a leadoff single followed by an infield knock off the bat of Costleigh. Deddo singled to load the bases before Semler was hit by a pitch to pick up the RBI. Three batters later Scerra singled to drive in two more runners as Maritime opened up a 7-1 lead.
 
Bruinsma allowed a two-out walk in the top of the sixth, but struck out a pair in the inning to keep the Dolphins in check. After retiring the first batter in the seventh, the next two reached, but the right-hander got out of the inning with some defensive help as Maritime turned over another double play to seal the victory.
 
Maritime (5-6) is next scheduled to take on Fisher College (Mass.) on Wednesday evening as the Privateers hope the warm weather over the next few days will allow the Reinhart Baseball Field to be playable for the 7 p.m. contest. Check back to MaritimeAthletics.com for news regarding the game if the matchup is altered.
 
Staten Island (6-2) will travel on the road for a tough task, as the Dolphins will visit the William Paterson Pioneers for a 3:45 p.m. start in Wayne, New Jersey on Tuesday afternoon.