The Maritime College baseball team fell in heart-breaking fashion to Hood College on Friday afternoon as they lost 4-3 in 13 innings. The Privateers defense was able strand 16 runners on base throughout the game, but struggled to get crucial hits late in the game and ultimately couldn't hold off the Blazers any longer.
A.J. Ammirati (Queens, N.Y./Construction) got the start for Maritime and gave them a great five innings on the mound by only allowing three hits and one earned run. Ammirati didn't allow a walk, and struck out five batters, including a stellar second inning where he struck out the side.
The Privateers evened up the score at 1 in the bottom of the fourth inning off the bat of Robert Martin (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel) as he singled up the third base line to score Antonio Diaz (Freeport, N.Y./Freeport). Diaz led off the inning with a bunt single and then stole second to put himself in scoring position. Two innings later, Eric Wenig (Simi Valley, CA/Simi Valley) and Nick McTighe (Merrick, N.Y./Holy Trinity) drove in two more runs with RBI singles to make it a 3-1 lead for Maritime. The Blazers answered right back though in the top of the seventh inning by scoring two runs of their own to tie up the game at 3.
In the top of the 10th inning, Skylar Graff (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) pitched himself out of trouble with runners on second and third with nobody out. Graff struck out the final two batters to keep the score tied and give the offense a chance to win the game. However, the offensive struggles continued for Maritime.
In the top of the 11th, Ryan Rockhill (Eastchester, NY/Tuckahoe) kept the Blazers offense at bay as he gunned down the lead-off hitter at second base in a steal attempt. The freshman catcher and pitching staff did a fantastic job of holding the Hood College runners at bay as they were second in the NCAA in stolen bases a season ago.
Blaise Delise (Bellerose, NY/High School for Construction) entered the game in a tough situation in the top of the 12th inning with the bases loaded and two outs, but the freshman pitcher came up clutch and caught Alex Staton looking for strike three. In the bottom half of the inning, Matt Eng (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) singled and stole second base to give Maritime hope at pulling out the win, but they were unable to bring him home and walk-off with the win.
The Blazers were finally able to bring somebody across home plate in the 13th inning and they escaped with the 4-3 win.
"Once again, we pitched and played defense very well," said head coach Charlie Barbieri. "I'm proud of the way we hung in there today, but we needed a better offensive performance today and hopefully we see some improvement tomorrow."
The Privateers finish out their spring break training trip tomorrow with games against at Dominican at 10:00 a.m. and North Park at 1:30 p.m.
